# How to smile like you mean it **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 25, 2012, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-smile-like-you-mean-it/638789 "2012-10-25T02:10:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-smile-like-you-mean-it/638789/21 "2012-10-25T18:06:48Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > That was a good tip, I tried it and it works. With a little practice I think it could work very well. I take horrible photos because of fake smiles. Naturally I look more like a mug shot. I envy those who can turn the smile on like a light bulb. Thanks. I hope you got widening the eyes right. Don’t look startled, I’m not sure how to decribe it, but it might have something to do with the twinkling discussed above. But one of the hallmarks of a fake smile is no changes in the eyes, so doing anything with your eyes should help. I don’t smile much. I blame it on nerve damage in my jaw. But really I’m just grumpy all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-smile-like-you-mean-it/638789/22 "2012-10-25T18:09:31Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > so I have to consciously choose a happy face. It makes life much easier! So faking a smile makes it easier for you to murder them, is what you’re saying? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-smile-like-you-mean-it/638789/23 "2012-10-25T18:10:31Z")
> [@Covered\_In\_Bees](#): > > So faking a smile makes it easier for you to murder them, is what you’re saying? It makes it easier to get them into the van. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-smile-like-you-mean-it/638789/24 "2012-10-25T18:11:12Z")
Ah yes, of course. I got a little ahead of myself there. Ahem. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-smile-like-you-mean-it/638789/25 "2012-10-25T18:19:49Z")
> [@Covered\_In\_Bees](#): > > So faking a smile makes it easier for you to murder them, is what you’re saying? Honey vs vinegar, dude. ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-smile-like-you-mean-it/638789/26 "2012-10-25T18:36:25Z")
Give em a Ringo Starr : > [@](#): > > I’m not sad, it’s just me face! ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-smile-like-you-mean-it/638789/27 "2012-10-25T18:39:56Z")
Let an umbrella be your smile. Wait, I think I’ve got that backwards. ---
**Author:** ![Sticks\_and\_Scones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sticks_and_scones/32/16951_2.png) [@Sticks\_and\_Scones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sticks_and_Scones)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-smile-like-you-mean-it/638789/28 "2012-10-26T01:38:43Z")
You should see all the faces I’m making reading these posts! ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-smile-like-you-mean-it/638789/29 "2012-10-26T01:42:06Z")
People always used to tell me to smile more often, that I shouldn’t look so grumpy, etc. My mom said it was the cursed, “Woolsey frown” (her maiden name). It’s evidently very normal for everyone in the Woolsey clan to have a natural frown… and from the looks of my grandpa and his parents, it’s very true! So, now without even thinking about it, anytime I see someone while I’m walking, I just put on a little grin. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-smile-like-you-mean-it/638789/30 "2012-10-26T15:57:20Z")
If you walk around smiling people will wonder what you’re up to. No thanks! ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-smile-like-you-mean-it/638789/31 "2012-10-26T16:59:03Z")
I have one of those faces, too. When we took pictures for the office website I practiced in a mirror and found that I had put on what (from the inside) felt to me like a maniacal grin to look like I was really smiling. I tried it on picture day and the photographer commended me on smiling properly. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-smile-like-you-mean-it/638789/32 "2012-10-26T17:27:27Z")
> [@cher3](#): > > I have one of those faces, too. When we took pictures for the office website I practiced in a mirror and found that I had put on what (from the inside) felt to me like a maniacal grin to look like I was really smiling. I tried it on picture day and the photographer commended me on smiling properly. Go figure. yup yup yup! I’m on the same page here. I have to way, WAY over smile for people to think it’s a proper smile. ---
**Author:** ![Sticks\_and\_Scones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sticks_and_scones/32/16951_2.png) [@Sticks\_and\_Scones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sticks_and_Scones)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-smile-like-you-mean-it/638789/33 "2012-10-26T19:51:49Z")
> [@cher3](#): > > I have one of those faces, too. When we took pictures for the office website I practiced in a mirror and found that I had put on what (from the inside) felt to me like a maniacal grin to look like I was really smiling. I tried it on picture day and the photographer commended me on smiling properly. Go figure. > [@drewtwo99](#): > > yup yup yup! I’m on the same page here. I have to way, WAY over smile for people to think it’s a proper smile. I have finally found my people. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2012, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-smile-like-you-mean-it/638789/34 "2012-10-27T06:48:21Z")
Get dental implants so you have a big smile, or just smile on the inside. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2012, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-smile-like-you-mean-it/638789/35 "2012-10-27T08:01:57Z")
I had an evil stepmother who used to tell me to stop making a face. I tried explaining that’s just what my natural face looks like but I got in trouble for talking back. I’d say it’s the other person’s problem. There’s a whole range of human interaction that doesn’t require an emotional component and it isn’t your job to provide one where it isn’t an emotional context. If you are having a portrait taken, the key difference between a real smile and a fake one is in the eyes. “Real” smiles involve the whole face, not just the mouth. I find it helpful to “method act”, thinking of something the makes me happy, or something that is funny, to invoke the genuine emotion. If you really need to, when you encounter a person that needs you to smile, imagine doing horrible things to them, and smile with the satisfaction that they have no idea what you are thinking. Or imagine them naked or on roller skates, like Harry Potter. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2012, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-smile-like-you-mean-it/638789/36 "2012-10-27T10:32:14Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Smile with your eyes. Arching your eyebrows should make you mouth follow. Relax the jaw, let it hang loose a little. Widen your eyes, cock your head slightly to one side. Some of these things are indications of a real smile, others contra-indicate a fake smile. Thanks heaps for that. I’m going to try it in front of a mirror next time I’m alone in the house. I have one of those faces which makes people say irritating things like, “don’t worry, it’ll probably never happen.” [This is the second incredibly informative thread I’ve read today - the first was how Tiger Balm works. It’s a good day!] ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2012, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-smile-like-you-mean-it/638789/37 "2012-10-31T05:47:17Z")
[Basic Instructions to the rescue!](http://basicinstructions.net/basic-instructions/2006/8/23/how-to-fake-a-smile.html) Your hide would make a fine poncho! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-smile-like-you-mean-it/638789.md?page=1)