According to Albert Mehrabian's 7-38-55 rule, 93% of communication is nonverbal. This is made up of 55% body language and 38% tone of voice. The remaining 7% is spoken words.

Facial expressions, often subconscious, can provide valuable insights into someone’s feelings, intentions, or reactions. In this blog, we’ll explore five key facial signs—eye contact, eyebrows, smiles and eyes, side glances, and nodding—that can help you better understand others and enhance your own communication skills.

1. Eye Contact: The Window to the Soul

Eye contact is perhaps one of the most powerful nonverbal cues. It conveys attention, confidence, and interest—or, in some cases, discomfort or deception.

• Avoiding eye contact can indicate shyness, discomfort, or even dishonesty..

• Sustained eye contact signals engagement and interest. However, be aware of cultural differences —some cultures view prolonged eye contact as impolite.

• Rapid shifts in gaze might suggest nervousness or a desire to avoid a particular topic.

It is important that when you are observing eye contact, you consider the context and pair it with other cues to understand its true meaning.

2. Eyebrows: Our Emotional Barometer

Many people don’t realise just how expressive our Eyebrows really are. They are like a built-in emotional barometer and often reveal emotions before a person speaks.

• Raised eyebrows generally indicate surprise, curiosity, or scepticism. For instance, if someone raises their eyebrows while you’re explaining something, they may be intrigued or questioning what you’ve said.

• Furrowed brows suggest confusion, frustration, or deep thought.

• Neutral eyebrows typically reflect a calm or disinterested state.

Watching how eyebrows move during a conversation will help you gauge the other persons emotional shifts in real-time.

3. Smile and Eyes: The True Indicator of Emotion

We all know that a smile can brighten any interaction, but it’s the eyes that reveal whether it’s genuine or not.

• Genuine smiles engage the muscles around the eyes, creating crow’s feet. This is known as a “Duchenne smile” and indicates true happiness or warmth.

• Fake smiles involve only the mouth, without the changes around the eyes. These often appear forced and may signal discomfort or insincerity.

• Tearful eyes or a slightly glassy look can accompany authentic emotion, whether joy or sadness.

When someone smiles, take a look at their eyes to see just how sincere it really is.

4. Side Glances: Curiosity or Distrust?

Side glances are subtle but revealing. They are an indicator of where a person’s attention truly lies and can indicate their underlying thoughts.

• Curious side glances occur when someone looks sideways while still listening and indicate intrigue or consideration.

• Sceptical side glances are often combined with a tilted head or pursed lips, suggesting doubt or distrust.

• Distracted side glances often mean that the person’s focus has shifted elsewhere, such as to another person or an object in the room.

By paying attention to where and how someone glances we can identify their focus and true feelings about the conversation.

5. Nodding: Agreement or Overcompensation ?

Nodding is a universal gesture that is usually considered to signal agreement or understanding - but its frequency and intensity can tell a different story.

• Subtle nodding indicates active listening and agreement.

• Frequent or exaggerated nodding may suggest impatience, a desire to move on, or an attempt to appear overly agreeable. For example, someone nodding excessively might not be as engaged as they seem but rather trying to hurry the conversation along.

Observing nodding patterns helps you assess whether someone is genuinely engaged or simply going through the motions.

Conclusion

Facial cues are important tools when it comes to understanding nonverbal communication. By paying attention to eye contact, eyebrows, smiles and eyes, side glances, and nodding, we can better interpret the unspoken messages in a conversation.

However, it is important to remember, that no one facial expression tells the whole story. Combine these signs with context, verbal communication, and body language to gain a more accurate understanding of someone’s emotions and intentions.

Understanding the interaction between body language and verbal communication is essential for assessors. Only by truly understanding this can we effectively build rapport and understand the evidence that we are being presented with during an assessment.