It has to be genuine and it has to be absolutely appropriate. Otherwise, you’ll look like the village idiot. Picture the person smiling and saying, “I’m sorry about the death of your family,” or, “Let’s talk now about AIDS.”
It always comes as a shock when the TV reporters look as if they’re smile or grinning when they broadcast, “Three thousand people were left homeless when the earthquake struck in Nepal,” or the weather reporter who appears to be having a great time telling you, “Another tornado is on the in the Southeast.”
It must only appear at happy or pleasant times. I don’t think it’s possible to smile too much if the message is a pleasant, happy one.
There is such a thing as a nervous smile.
It’s an unfortunate face to show. I’m thinking of the person who’s being interviewed on television at a moment of terrible stress. Quite often you’ll see the grieving widow talking about the accident that took her husband’s life telling the interviewer what a terrible experience it was and the near-grimace appears like a grin. We wonder if he had a fabulous insurance policy. Or the people you’ve seen talking to a reporter while cleaning up after a devastating flood. The face is really in a resigned “acceptance” mode, but again it appears like a grin and we’re left wondering.
The Smile
