"7 Micro Expressions You Need To Know - Negotiate Better" - Trading Tip of the Week

Pale expression held her face. Holy “blank” was the four-letter obscenity word he spoke. We are in a full-blown crisis! Stunned, he said, what are we going to do now? We have to negotiate with them! His partner said, let’s meet with our adversaries. We can read your microexpressions during the meeting to better understand your real thoughts and feelings. That will let us know what they really think.

Can you read micro expressions? Do you know what they are? Read on and you can answer both questions. Also, you will discover how you can use them when you are in a crisis.

Microexpressions:

Micro expressions are emotional manifestations that last less than a quarter of a second. They reflect the reality of someone’s thoughts at the time. Therefore, if you can interpret someone’s emotional manifestations accurately, you will have an idea of their current emotional state. Doing so will give you an idea of how they feel about an offer or statement. During a crisis, having this information gives you real-time information about the direction to take.

There are seven generic micro-expressions for everyone around the world.

Fear: When you detect genuine fear, look for raised eyebrows, wide-open eyes, and parted lips with the lower lip protruding downward.

Anger: Anger is denoted by lowered eyebrows and dilated nostrils reminiscent of a bull before charging.

Disgust: This micro-expression is shown with the upper lip raised, while the nose is wrinkled.

Surprise: You will recognize the surprise through the raised eyebrows, the wide eyes and the open mouth.

Contempt: This gesture looks like a mockery. You will notice it from one corner of the mouth upwards.

Sadness: Note sadness through drooping eyelids and downward-facing lips. A change in pitch and inflection of the voice can also accompany genuine pain.

Happiness – Happiness is shown through wide eyes with crow’s feet or corner wrinkles, a smile, and raised cheeks. A certain degree of exuberance can also accompany this gesture.

Use of micro expressions in crisis intervention:

Knowing someone’s real thoughts allows you to understand their source of motivation, and that’s the benefit of being able to read someone’s expressions.

During a crisis, use the unannounced information you have collected and assess how strong the opposition is. From there, determine the degree of mental or actual strength to summon. Another advantage is the ability to assess the commitment that those on the opposite side have to each other. Consequently, if you can identify those with the least alliance, you may be able to separate them from the rest. Thus, it would weaken their numerical strength, which can help lower their overall power.

Once you’ve gathered the above knowledge, consider different ways to use it to your advantage. As an example you could:

create false scenarios to confuse the other party for the direction to take
align some of your strongest positions with your weakest (do this to keep your strongest points at bay), then you can say that you are doing everything you can to meet your needs
Form a splinter group, made up of your side, theirs, and neutral stakeholders to combat the general force of the opposing party; This maneuver is similar to divide and conquer, with the benefit of your team becoming stronger, while theirs will be diluted.

Fake microexpressions:

While genuine micro-expressions give insight into one’s mind, you can fake it. For example, you can exaggerate contempt by lifting one corner of your lip and allowing it to linger longer than a micro-expression. Even if the other person did not initially observe your expression, you could ask if they saw what you did. Regardless, it will have him on the defensive asking questions and him answering them.

Confront with caution:

There is nothing more overwhelming than evaluating an adversary and not identifying their true leader. That means you have to be very aware of who your real opponent is and the decision-making skills he has. You’ve heard of the power behind the throne. Even more so during a crisis, that is who you want to confront. Your rivals may have a shared leadership structure or use a front-person as the face of their team. They would do that to confuse you.

To identify a power source, look at who might look to whom to confirm before making or accepting an offer. You can also detect subtle signs of hesitation to commit such an act. That is where your observance of the micro-expressions will help to identify a person you are facing as someone who possesses power.

Reflection:

Being able to accurately identify and interpret microexpressions will give you a huge advantage in any situation. During a crisis, having this ability will magnify your power exponentially. So if you use this ability wisely, you will deter and warn of more crises … and all will be fine in the world.

Remember, you are always negotiating!

Listen to Greg’s podcast to https://anchor.fm/themasternegotiator

After reading this article, what are you thinking? I would like to know. Contact me at [email protected]