Icarus here. Its been a while due to real life being way to exciting to stop playing for even ten minutes. This blog is going to explore the world of micro expressions.
First a little introduction to what micro expressions actually are: Micro expressions are pretty much exactly what they sound like. Expressions.... which are small. For example the flicker of an eye lid or twitch in a cheek muscle when someone hears something they don't like or the lift of the corner of the mouth when you hear something you do like.
There are literally hundreds of different variations that you can learn to observe and mimic if you are very good. Way too many for me to go into detail here. The main thing you should take away from this is that micro expressions correctly read NEVER lie.
But what are they? The three most common areas to observe micro gestures are.
• Movement around the mouth
• Tension around the eyes
• Flaring around the nose
These movements are caused by the surrounding muscles as they receive two conflicting ideas within your brain. Usually how you genuinely feel about something versus what you want someone to think you feel about something. You may be asked the question how was your date last night? Your verbal reply may be “Yeah it was awesome. She is incredibly beautiful and funny!”
Your non verbal reply, or what you actually thinking could be “No, it was terrible. She didn't stop talking about her ex all night and I had to pay for everything”
We can analyse the above example and pinpoint exactly where the lie comes into play by observing the three areas listed above. The sentence by someone genuine would be delivered with a flashing smile, crows feet visible, nose wrinkling and a small glint in the eye as the mind travels back to an obviously awesome night. By someone being false we could observe that although most of the conversation would be delivered in exactly the same way, the micro expressions at the beginning of the sentence would read with great disgust as the brain recalls the feeling felt at the time of the date. The person being false would try to correct that gesture immediately and deliver a fake smile (this can be spotted by less teeth showing, fewer creases by the eyes and the nose not wrinkling as much. The second part of the sentence, delivered falsely, you would be able to notice as light uplift of the upper lip as the person is forced to relive the event again in his mind.
Another example would be the POKER FACE! No, not a song by a lady I'm pretty sure is Marilyn Manson in drag(seriously look it up the resemblance is uncanny). By poker face I obviously mean the the look practised by professional poker players the world over. If you follow poker you will know the word “tell” which is a Micro gesture. You will notice all professional poker players cover their eyes they also play with chips on the table, mainly to cover up any other micro gestures they think they might be making. Again we can use a knowledge of micro gestures to realize the inner workings of our opponents mind.
A player being dealt a hand picks it up and takes a glance. No matter how good this player or any player is, the millisecond he registers those cards his facial muscles will be shooting out to his opponent how he feels about them. A slight twitch under the eye, the squinting muscle, would imply he is glaring at his cards and is obviously unhappy at their current position in front of him. A slight twitch in his cheek would be a sign he is very happy with what he has seen. Bear in mind that these examples would probably not be much use in a casino. If they were I probably wouldn't be writing a blog on a Wednesday evening!
Your non verbal reply, or what you actually thinking could be “No, it was terrible. She didn't stop talking about her ex all night and I had to pay for everything”
We can analyse the above example and pinpoint exactly where the lie comes into play by observing the three areas listed above. The sentence by someone genuine would be delivered with a flashing smile, crows feet visible, nose wrinkling and a small glint in the eye as the mind travels back to an obviously awesome night. By someone being false we could observe that although most of the conversation would be delivered in exactly the same way, the micro expressions at the beginning of the sentence would read with great disgust as the brain recalls the feeling felt at the time of the date. The person being false would try to correct that gesture immediately and deliver a fake smile (this can be spotted by less teeth showing, fewer creases by the eyes and the nose not wrinkling as much. The second part of the sentence, delivered falsely, you would be able to notice as light uplift of the upper lip as the person is forced to relive the event again in his mind.
Another example would be the POKER FACE! No, not a song by a lady I'm pretty sure is Marilyn Manson in drag(seriously look it up the resemblance is uncanny). By poker face I obviously mean the the look practised by professional poker players the world over. If you follow poker you will know the word “tell” which is a Micro gesture. You will notice all professional poker players cover their eyes they also play with chips on the table, mainly to cover up any other micro gestures they think they might be making. Again we can use a knowledge of micro gestures to realize the inner workings of our opponents mind.
A player being dealt a hand picks it up and takes a glance. No matter how good this player or any player is, the millisecond he registers those cards his facial muscles will be shooting out to his opponent how he feels about them. A slight twitch under the eye, the squinting muscle, would imply he is glaring at his cards and is obviously unhappy at their current position in front of him. A slight twitch in his cheek would be a sign he is very happy with what he has seen. Bear in mind that these examples would probably not be much use in a casino. If they were I probably wouldn't be writing a blog on a Wednesday evening!
Due to the uncontrollable nature an adept can accurately predict thoughts pertaining to a particular subject asked and determine if the verbal answer corresponds to the non verbal answer. They can also be used to determine how an individual feels about someone else by observing their micro gestures when he is speaking.
A good way to practise and see which ones mean what is to go into a coffee shop (again the one that rhymes with friar tucks would suffice) and observe two people talking.Try to ignore any of the actual words used and focus mainly when someone is asked to answer a question. As they are about to respond notice any twitches around the three areas listed above and make a decision as to how they are feeling inside their head. Next, try to recreate that twitch. You may feel like an idiot but its OK your learning and learning is always good. Once you have formed what you believe to be a good approximation of the twitch, exaggerate it and let it get larger on your face. From there you will be able to feel what kind of gesture the mind of the person observed intended and more often than not it will not be the one vocalized.
To wrap this up, if you have ever been talking to someone and doubt they are telling you the truth, chances are your brain has caught a micro gesture and made you question the truthfulness of what was said. In short always listen to your “Gut” instinct it may prove to be incorrect but in my experience that's very rarely the case.
Also if you meet me in person,I wasn't lying, I was genuine... You are very special.
To wrap this up, if you have ever been talking to someone and doubt they are telling you the truth, chances are your brain has caught a micro gesture and made you question the truthfulness of what was said. In short always listen to your “Gut” instinct it may prove to be incorrect but in my experience that's very rarely the case.
Also if you meet me in person,I wasn't lying, I was genuine... You are very special.
Icarus.
P.S. I should say thank you to a lady who made it known that she was interested in reading a bit more about Micro expressions after reading my previous blog, so cheers Lucia!
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