It turns out, we’re all pretty terrible at reading each other’s mood if we can’t see faces.
Specifically, it’s harder to recognize a pleased look when it’s coming from the mouth. Anger and frustration, on the other hand, tend to show up more obviously in the eyes and brows.
Which makes masks a bit of a predicament. But here we are. Ever since medical experts began recommending that we wear them to prevent the spread of COVID-19, masks have become not just common but ubiquitous, and even fashionable.
This probably won’t change soon. And truthfully, in some Asian countries, wearing masks in public has been normal for years. So we might as well get used to it.
In the business world, specifically, it will be interesting to see how we all learn to read each other from the nose up. Will we get more expressive with our eyebrows? Will we become wilder gesticulators? Will there be more miscommunication? Or will we learn to be more articulate in general?
As a Recruiter, I have long relied on smiling as a way to put people at ease. I accept the challenge to find another way.