In a life full of hustle and bustle, where you wake up on time but still reach late to work, you have completed your assignment and still haven’t been appreciated for the same, you have been told off about something that happened and you weren’t responsible for it, it’s just natural for anger and frustration to build up.
What if it is replaced by a smile? Difficult, but not impossible. A smile is a tool to gain competitive advantage . When used appropriately, it can influence a person’s reaction or even the choice he is about to make.
Let’s go through a few situations where you can change your way of reacting with a complete optimistic approach.
- An embarrassing situation at work : Dealing with embarrassment needn’t be all that embarrassing. Let’s take an example where you trip while working, only to hear giggles and laughter before you can even get up. Well, instead of getting miffed due to the embarrassment, just smile and break into a giggle. It makes the situation lighter and easier on you.
- Hangover of a nasty argument : Don’t know how to react to a colleague with whom, you had an ugly tiff last evening at work? You can’t deal with the awkwardness and at the same time you want to avoid negativity. For a start, a smile is the best gesture that shows you haven’t carried the baggage of negativity from the last evening as it is a powerful tool to break down the cold walls. Be the initiator, once you have done your bit, let the ball be in his court.
- At an interview : Let’s see both the sides of a coin, you as an interviewee and you as an interviewer. Coming to the former situation, you walk into a cabin all tensed and nervous, full of trepidation, you can’t let the interviewer read you as unconfident. Where the first impression is the last one, when you smile, it generates a lot of positivity and lets your interviewer know how confident and positive you are. Coming to the latter situation, when an interviewee enters your cabin for an interview, smile and make him feel comfortable and welcomed. If nothing else, your smile would serve as a messenger of goodwill.
- A day full of trials and tribulations : Office hours can get tiring and stressful. With work pressure building up throughout the day, it is just about natural to feel anxious. At times, we snap at our colleagues , we over react in trivial situations, we can’t handle and things get messier. If anxiousness and frustration could be replaced with a smile, it would help deal with a stressful day more positively. A smile during a stressful day can make your colleagues appreciate and like you for the way of handling things.
- Handling Quirky Customers : Never underestimate the energy and curiosity of your customer when it comes to counter questioning you. However, trying the situation may be, as a salesman, you have to be patient and answer the same question a zillion times. To let you customer know that you are addressing his queries patiently and attentively, always smile and reply.
- Making the ‘good morning’ sound great : You are a tele-caller or a receptionist and start your day by answering a call at your desk. The greeting of the day over the phone sounds way more enthusiastic and energetic when you wear a smile just before you answer a call or make one. The person at the other end, can definitely hear the smile in your voice.
It is essential to know when to smile. You can’t keep smiling in a situation full of turmoil or tragedy, as it may come across as being insensitive. Of course, in normal circumstances, more often than not, you must smile.