7. Not smiling
When you’re at a networking event and meeting lots of new people, it can be hard to keep a smile plastered on your face. Try anyway. In a University of Wyoming study, nearly 100 undergraduate women looked at photos of another woman in one of four poses: smiling in an open body position, smiling in a closed body position, not smiling in an open body position, or not smiling in a closed body position. Results showed that the woman in the photo was liked most when she was smiling, regardless of her body position.
More recently, researchers at Stanford University and the University of Duisburg-Essen found that students who interacted with each other through avatars felt more positively about the interaction when the avatar displayed a bigger smile. Bonus: Another study found that smiling when you first meet someone helps ensure that they’ll remember you later.
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