If you are in a position where you have to sell something, be it a piece of clothing, a stock option, or even yourself in a job interview, being able to create a genuine smile can make a significant impact on your ability to make the sale. Specifically, you need to be able to create a Duchenne smile, what people judge as a true smile, one that includes not just your mouth, but also your eyes.
Although most of us are actually able to fake these so-called genuine smiles, you have to feel comfortable with your smile to do it. If you’re not, we can give you smile that will make you happy to share–see our smile gallery for examples.
About the Duchenne Smile
The Duchenne smile is named after the French physiologist G.B.A. Duchenne de Boulogne, who experimented with electrode stimulation of facial muscles (a very primitive version of the TENS technique we use to help treat TMJ). Duchenne discovered that when he placed electrodes on the cheeks of his subject, he could make them smile, but something was missing. This was because although he was stimulating the cheek muscles, he wasn’t stimulating the muscles around the eyes, which are a crucial part of smiling.
Because Duchenne and his friends had difficulty consciously stimulating these muscles around the eyes, they declared that this was the difference between genuine and fake smiles.
However, since then, we have learned that it’s actually possible for many people to fake Duchenne smiles if they are imagining positive emotion and aren’t currently feeling bad.
Duchenne Smiles Impact Sales
Although most research has been done using static advertising and models, it seems clear that having a Duchenne smile leads to increased sale possibilities. One study looked at how emotional contagion (basically, “the whole world smiles with you” effect) could interfere with people’s ability to evaluate a product. Basically, because they were happy, they didn’t go through the steps to evaluate a product thoroughly before coming to a positive verdict on the product and their willingness to buy it.
Another study looked at the impact Duchenne smiles had on people’s impression of a product and found that people were more likely to feel positive about a product and decide that they wanted to buy it if the model had a Duchenne smile.
Give Your Smile a Touch-Up
No matter what it is you’re selling, the truth is that you sell better with a natural, uninhibited smile on your face. (What’s more, it even matters in phone sales–people can hear you smiling.)
In order to be able to give that natural smile, you need to feel confident in your smile. If you’re unhappy with your smile, cosmetic dentistry can help you get a smile you’ll be more than happy to share.
To learn more about how we can help you get a great smile, please contact Beyond Exceptional Dentistry in Savannah, Georgia today.
