A few short months ago, masks were not the norm for most of us (except maybe for religious purposes). Now we see them everywhere and in some areas in America, they are mandated. The world has changed so quickly that the new norms are developing and many of the consequences of this action are yet to be realized.
Your face is your center of power in business and the smile is such an important part of a person being able to connect with you. The mask, however, covers over half of your face with your mouth being totally concealed.
Although a pleasant look on your face is always the preference, now more than ever, we may need to be more conscious of that pleasant face because by putting a smile on your face, it changes the tone of your voice and it is how you put a smile in your voice. So now, although people may not be able to see your smile with your mouth covered up, it is more important than ever they may be able to hear it in your voice.
Just as important and maybe less known your smile, like your handshake, is wired neurologically to the brain. When you smile you send positive feel good chemicals to the brain like dopamine.
In business when someone greets another person with a smile, they have a better chance of being greeted back with a smile. When this happens, you cause the chemicals to not only be released in your brain, but also in the person/people you are meeting. These feel good chemicals help the meeting to start off on a more positive note. This is so important to help people connect both professionally and personally.
The act of smiling affects our brains in a positive way and is a good idea now during this time and on into the future, mask or no mask.
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