Body Language Analysis No. 4058: Cara Mund, Miss America 2018 - Nonverbal and Emotional Intelligence (PHOTOS)

Ms. Cara Mund of North Dakota was named the 2018 Miss America a few hours ago. The above image shows her along with some of the other contestants.

You'll notice Cara Mund and a good share of her colleagues are "smiling" in a particular manner - with their lower teeth exposed. However, these smiles are not sincere (aka a "Duchenne smile").

A sincere smile (with a few, minor exceptions) should not display any bottom teeth. It's important to stress that this does not imply that these women are overall, insincere people. But if we want to project sincerity in the moment (and shouldn't we all?) - and more importantly, to truly be sincere - then we should all endeavor to use the "control panel" of our emotions and moods - our face.

You may remember from picture day in elementary school when the photographer said, "say cheese" - which, of course, exposed our lower teeth. For many of us, this event is when cross-wiring of false smiling began. And yet if you never had such a school picture experience, no doubt you've fallen for this misinformation by simple diffusion.

With the exception of smiling in the context of laughing (either crescendoing to, or decrescendoing  from sincere laughter) or with certain visual perspectives (tilting one's head down, a downward looking camera angle or taller person) - displaying lower teeth while smiling is emotional hyperbole. It's melodramatic overkill. It shouldn't be done.

What has made this problem even worse in the past thirty or forty years - is with the near ubiquity of orthodontics and teeth whitening in many countries - some people feel the need to let you see all thirty-two of their teeth. Although they may not be aware of it, they're very much saying, "I'm just pretending to like you".

If you want to project a true, sincere smile - and one that will even make you feel joyful simply by forming it, try the following technique:

1. Think of some activity, event, or person who truly brings you joy.

2. Don't smile with your mouth - smile with your eyes. That is to say - smile with your eyes first - and your mouth will follow. Also, don't try to smile with your eyes and mouth simultaneously.

3. Once you're smiling with your eyes (the most important part of any sincere smile) - your lower face will naturally form a "mouth smile".

4. Only after the first three steps are accomplished, try retracting your jaw (pulling it backward). Although this fourth step is not necessary, you'll find it often deepens and prolongs smiling.


Congratulations Ms. Cara Mund.


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See also:

Body Language Analysis No. 4057: Steve Bannon's "60 Minutes" Interview

Body Language Analysis No. 4055: What Does Jessica Chastain Feel For Matt Damon?

Body Language Analysis No. 4053: Donald Trump Regarding DACA - "I Have a Love for These People"

Body Language Analysis No. 4051: Predicting Kim Jong-un's Behavior

Body Language Analysis No. 4041: Former Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak regarding Secrets from Donald Trump

Body Language Analysis No. 4011: Anthony Scaramucci's First UK Interview

Body Language Analysis No. 3979: Ivanka Trump, "I Try to Stay Out of Politics"

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3905: Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid, and Deep Joy

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3814: Claire Foy's recounting of Meeting Kate Winslet


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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2951: Miss America 2015 - Sincerity, Surprise and Botox (PHOTOS)

Last night Miss Kira Kazantsev, won the 2015 Miss America. It was the third year in a row that the contestant from New York State was awarded the supreme Tiara.

Many people would doubt the sincerity of this moment and thus also Miss Kazantsev's facial expression - Yet they both are very sincere.



Notice her vertically oval-shaped mouth as well as the fact that no teeth are visible. People who make a faked surprise expression will have a mouth opened with a significantly wider horizontal component. In addition the feigned surprise will always have teeth showing. Even all but the best character actors will still make this mistake.

Her eyelids are also opened very widely along with extremely elevated eyebrows - mirroring the configuration of her mouth. Intriguingly, as all women who wear eye make-up know - it is much easier to open eyes widely if their mouth also adopts a similar morphology.

What are some other nonverbal components of sincere surprise? We should see her forehead contract - it is, however it is very minimally. The reason for this is because she has had Botox injections. The lack of normal and expected contraction of the forehead muscles (and thus dynamic furrows) diminishes the appearance of sincerity.

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2950: Daniele Watts, "Django Unchained" Actor gets Mistaken for a Prostitute and Handcuffed and Detained for Kissing her Boyfriend

Nonverbal Communication Quiz-Analysis No. 2936: Tony Stewart's addresses Kevin Ward's Death - Sincere vs. Insincere

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2839: Jonah Hill's Apology on Jimmy Fallon - Sincere or Insincere? 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2459:  Was Eliot Spitzer Sincere?  Apology, Sincerity and Body Language 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2438:  Sincere Surprise Body Language  Three Year Old Receives Brain Stem Implant and  Hears for the First Time

Nonverbal Communication Quiz-Analysis No. 2902: How Sincere was Ray Rice's Apology?

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2508: Anne Frank, Sincere Smiles and Emotional Comfort

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2546: Miss America Nina Davuluri, A Beautiful Woman - but What of Her Smile? (VIDEO, PHOTO)

Miss America 2014 - Nina Davuluri is incredibly beautiful. She also is the first Miss America of Indian ethnicity. Unfortunately, but of no great surprise, she also makes the same mistake that a lot of gorgeous people do, particularly those with perfect teeth - she displays (and dramatically so) the maximum amount of teeth possible - including those on the bottom.

If the smile is sincere (also termed a Duchenne Smile) the lower teeth should almost never be seen. The only exceptions are in the context of a smile mixed with laughter, with a downward angle view (either from a camera, from the point of view of a taller person, etc.) or out of simple fatigue (e.g. holding a posed smile too long).

Although Nina laughs a bit in this video (also out of context and which has other nonverbal ramifications), the vast majority of her "smiles" display her lower teeth. Often we all need to "smile" when we do not feel joy or happiness - and these are termed "social smiles". Some people have higher quality (and more believable) social smiles than others. There is quite a variety of social smiles, and not surprisingly, people tend to default to a particular variety of which they've used for years (the vast majority of times without realizing it).

It is important to emphasize that although Ms. Davuluri's smile is not sincere, it does not indicate that she - or anyone else with a similar display is "insincere as whole person" - but just in that moment. Whether representing herself or her country, Nina Davuluri would have a much higher "Sincerity Quotient" and thus build more rapport if she would smile display a sincere smile.

The mouth component is but one element of a sincere smile. Do you know its other requirements?

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2424:  Giada De Laurentiis on Conan O'Brien  Beautiful Teeth but Insincere Smiles and Some Body Language Signals of Waning Love

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2515:  Eliot Spitzer vs. Scott Stringer  Insincere Smile with Anger Component  Body Language and the NYC Comptroller Race

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2157:  Al Smith Charity Dinner Barack Obama's & Mitt Romney's Smiles Sincere or False?

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2482:  Alex Rodriguez's Sincerity  Body Language of a One-Sided Smile

Nonverbal Communication Secret # 2091:  Sincere Smiling (a la' Blake Lively) and  Laughing - Reduces Anxiety and  Heart Rate, Boosts Immune System and Relieves Pain

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2474:  Mayor Bob Filner's False Smile -  Insincerity, Body Language and San Diego

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 1905:  Ann Curry's Smile and Sincerity Quotient

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