A Case Study of How Smiling Affects Communication.
Christian Nevell Bovee once said, "Something of a person's character may be observed by how they smile." This statement strikes to the heart of a research assignment I was given as a part of a Business Communications course I am currently taking. My assignment was to choose three subjects and perform a blind study on how they react to my smiling at them during a personal interaction. I chose three friends of mine as the subjects for this study. Each of these people reacted differently in this experiment.
My first subject, whom I will call Ryan, has been my friend for over three years and is currently my roommate. Ryan is normally very introverted and defensive in his communication. He prefers to avoid prolonged conversation and becomes upset if others do not agree with his views. During the course of any given evening, Ryan and I will normally have only a few conversations. In general, these conversations are about either our mutual interest in the computer industry or the necessities of maintaining our household. Although our conversations rarely turn negative, Ryan and I often disagree .
During one of my conversations with Ryan, I smiled at him throughout. His initial response was to give me a small smile and then continue our conversation. As we continued, Ryan became progressively friendlier in both his attitude and demeanor. His smile reappeared several times before becoming fixed on his face. Ryan's voice grew softer and he began leaning forward. Ryan also changed in his mental attitude as he became more receptive to the feedback and ideas I was discussing with him. Even more, this conversation lasted much longer than those that we normally have. Apparently the smiling served to facilitate more open communication between Ryan and I.
My second subject, whom I will call William, is Ryan's younger brother. William is a 14 year-old male, who, unlike his brother, is very extroverted.