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Facial Expressions training

C

csanon

Well-Known Member
Does anyone know of any good online resources for this- videos, etc.? I'm finally starting to work on this area of communication, and I've actually learned a great deal from static images, but obviously I think seeing faces in "real time" would benefit me much more.

As I'm starting to learn to read faces better I'm already feeling more confident in my interactions with others.
 
his is a good question actually. What I do is watch TV and mimic the expressions, or try to, in a mirror, and practice.
An issue I've noticed as have others is that my practiced expressions are very fleeting.
 
HelloDizzy said:
his is a good question actually. What I do is watch TV and mimic the expressions, or try to, in a mirror, and practice.
An issue I've noticed as have others is that my practiced expressions are very fleeting.
Click to expand...

I practice with the TV too. It also helps me with my tone and inflection, because my tone is naturally very monotonous. Whenever I do photoshoots with friends where I'm in front of the camera I have to tell them to help me watch my face, I never know what it's doing!
 
I tend to mimic other people's facial expressions. I'm pretty decent at it, the only thing is sometimes the expressions get "stuck" and I find myself still doing it after I've been alone for 5 minutes.
 
Mimicing is really good way in some group situations. But in sudden occurances there might not be anything to hold on to. I had bizarre moment last week at uni as I entered room after someone and stayed to close the door behind me. While I turned to face people inside I glanced at person sitting on nearest table. He hardly looked at me, but I feel I looked so scared and then he realized to look at me for a good second. It's not like it'd be a surprise for me that there's people inside classroom, I have no idea why I just couldn't go in, or maybe say "hi" to him and just go search my seat.
Now I'm struggling on going back next week, because I'm bit ashamed that I looked so guilty and scared to him for no reason. And probably when I get enough courage to return to uni, I'll blew something else up because I can't really build a lesson of my previous mistakes and social clumsiness.

Could surprising situations like that be trained also, do you think?
 
I wrote a blog about this not too long ago. The problem with most facial recognition charts is that they leave out some very important ones, ones that I think it is crucial for us to know and recognize. Things like mockery, deception, contempt. Part of the trouble is that I think that people who make up these charts don't think about bullying situations and how to recognize them. It's part of this whole denial thing about bullying and harassment.

I find watching movies is a good way to learn facial expressions. Also I am in theater which helps especially when the director points something out. Because actually I think 90% of theater is body/facial and 10% dialogue.

Another thing to remember is that often times we make much more of a situation than may be actually going on. Like the situation at uni. The guy might have looked at you because he only caught a glimpse, not enough to recognize who the person was, and maybe had to look again to see who it was. I do that a lot. I see someone whose hair or body style looks like someone I know but at second glance I see they are someone different. At any rate, unless the other person brings it up I wouldn't say anything. That only calls more attention to oneself. I'd say a good many NT's are just as self-absorbed as people on the spectrum are reputed to be. Now, an actual harassment situation is something different and there are people who are very clever at disguising their intentions so that all you can go by is your gut feeling that this person is hostile without even knowing why.
 
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I've noticed my facial expression are very exaggerated, although I've practiced, and they're short lived. So I'm much like a cartoon.
 
Yes,
I've noticed facial charts only cover a dozen or so expressions, but contempt was one of them. I also managed to find some clips on youtube as well, which were much more helpful.
 
OP mentioned learning to read faces.
I read this article today about the way people believe that dogs read faces.
It was a chance remark my cousin made that prompted me to find this information.
Every day when she wakes up, her dog is staring
into her face and she thinks it's creepy.

me: Would you rather wake up with his butt in your face?
her: lol no

What is Left Gaze Bias? How Does It Relate to Dogs? | Canidae Blog
Next time I see some human faces, I plan to try this dog method of reading faces.
 
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