A simple smile can instantly improve our likeability.

Knowing this, some people walk around with a fake smile permanently painted on their face.

But if deployed incorrectly, an always-on smile can actually have the opposite effect . Just think about a politician walking through a crowd with shockingly white teeth always gleaming out from between his lips.

Not exactly someone who embodies trust or likeability.

Fortunately, there’s a better approach.

Rather than blinding shooting smiles at whomever you might come across, be more deliberate. Wait a split second.

Don’t break it out as soon as someone comes across your line of vision. After you see someone, take a moment to process who they are, and then break out the smile.

That simple pause doesn’t sound like much, but it’s incredibly impactful.

It changes the message from “I have this smile on because I want to impress anyone I see” to “I’m smiling because I’m happy to see you.”

-Brandon