Facial expressions are the primary way people exhibit emotion and read the feelings of others. Happiness, sadness, disgust, fear and surprise can be communicated through facial expressions alone. But when part of the face is masked, it becomes more difficult to recognize these cues.
If you cannot read someone else' s emotional state, your ability to empathize with them may be compromised. Likewise, if your own mask is hiding your emotional state, others may not be able to empathize with you. Wearing a mask can also make you feel more distracted and self-conscious, further weakening your connection to others.
Fortunately, you can regain some control over communication by working with what you have left-the eyes. If you want to increase understanding with a masked individual, you should look them in the eyes, which may be easier said than done. Eye contact generates self- consciousness, consumes extra brain power and becomes uncomfortable after only three seconds. But bear in mind, eye contact can also make you appear more intelligent and trustworthy.
You might be surprised how much information is conveyed by the body itself. For instance, when someone is happy, they stand up straighter, when they are sad, they drop their head; and when they are angry, their whole body tenses up. Learning how people use their bodies to convey emotion may help reduce the uncertainty you feel when communicating with someone in a mask.
Become aware of your own body language, too. When engaged in a conversation, you can appear more attentive by turning your body toward the individual, leaning in or nodding. To let another person know you want to start speaking, straighten your posture, or nod more frequently. Finally, he «ware that imitating the posture of another person can increase how much they like you and even agree with you.
By all means, continue the proper measures to keep yourself safe, but don't neglect your relationships as a consequence. Social distance doesn't have to mean socially distant.
