Let me just confess, right now, I could never play
poker. When a thought runs through my
head, my mouth may know better than to speak it, but my face just says it all!
That may be one reason I work well with special education
students. They love loud facial expressions.
It’s usually something they can relate to. Except “the look.” Many children in special education programs
don’t understand that look you give from across the room that means, “you
better stop that behavior right now.”
You know the one. It’s the look
your parents gave you. The one you give
your children. “The look.”
I recall working in a regular education kindergarten
classroom and I gave a child that look.
Every mother possesses it and sometimes it just comes out. Right? Well, that child’s eyes got wide and they
immediately quit misbehaving. It was
awesome. I went home that night and
announced to my husband, “I still got it!”
Just this week I had a coworker thank me for encouraging
her during a crisis moment. I was
surprised, because I wasn’t quite sure what she was referring to. She elaborated, “That look you gave me
when…., it just encouraged me and helped me to be calm.” I was very pleased that I had been an
encouragement to her. Honestly, I don’t
recall giving her any kind of a look.
Isn’t it amazing that our faces can cause changes in
others, whether that is behavior or emotion, strength or courage.
There is a negative side to that though. Our faces can also relate disgust,
disappointment, skepticism, and anger.
Here’s where it can get tricky.
Often those thoughts run through our heads, but we know better than to
voice the thought because we don’t want to say harmful words to another
person. Yet, our faces betray us.
In that critical moment when my face was an encouragement
to that co-worker… how might the situation changed if she had perceived a
negative look on my face? The day might
have ended very differently.
A simple eye-roll can ruin another person’s day, when a
smile could help them power through and make it a great day.
I’m sure you’ve heard people say, “Be aware of your
words, they can be harmful or encouraging.”
The same goes for your face.
Don’t forget to check your face.
