If you want to be able to connect with people more intimately, you’ll need to learn how to be more expressive. People find it way easier to connect and relate with somebody who is expressive. Someone who isn’t afraid and is capable of showing their emotion. You will need to be this person for the sake of the nourishment of your social life.
There are some people in this world, however, who are just not capable or don’t know how to be more expressive. If you’re one of those people, this article is going to be helpful for you. Read on to know how to be more in touch with your emotions and how to be more open about them so you can be more expressive.
Know the things that trigger you
If you want to be more expressive as a person, you have to familiarize yourself with the things that trigger you. I’m not only referring to the things that trigger you negatively, but also the things that trigger you positively. Know the things that excite you and the things that tick you off.
You’re doing this simply to get to know yourself better. Get in touch with yourself and the things that move you. The more you get to know yourself by knowing your triggers, the more expressive you can be as a person.
Acknowledge your social fears
You must also start acknowledging your fears from now on. Fears are powerful drivers and motivators. They’re also very powerful at making you immobile and unresponsive. In the case of socializing, if your fear involves any form of social anxiety, you’ll need to start acknowledging and facing that.
If you simply shrug off this fear, you’ll be merely pretending the fact that you’re okay with your social anxieties. This, in turn, will turn you stiff, nervous, and overthink in social settings. Acknowledge your fears. Know that they’re there and know you can rise above them. Improve your social skills so you won’t have to worry about social fears anymore. That’s what you should do instead of simply shrugging them off.
Another thing you’ll need to completely overcome is the fear of social judgments. As long as this exists within you, you can never be as expressive as you should be.
In order to do this, you must simply acknowledge the idea that not everyone in the world is out to get you. Not everyone is going to pay attention to any mistakes you may have. Even if they do, it’s very unlikely that they’ll care. We all make mistakes, after all. Rise above them and that will earn admiration. Simply do this and your anxiety when it comes to social judgments will dissipate in time.
Be confident in making your facial expressions and body language more fluid
Since the goal is to be more expressive, then you actually have to practice being expressive. Not just mentally but physically. Make sure you’re able to portray your emotions clearly. You can do that through your facial expression and your body language. You’ll need to ensure that your facial and body movements are able to portray your actions completely.
For now, what you’ll need to keep in mind is to relax your body and facial muscles. Take it easy. Stop overthinking it and stop overdoing it. Whenever you’re overtaken by a certain emotion, don’t hesitate to let your body show it. If you’re happy, show it. If you’re sad, show it.
Whatever it may be, keep in mind to allow your face and your body to show it. Sometimes, a reminder is all it takes. Your body is fully capable of showing emotions. It sometimes can’t happen simply because you don’t allow it to. Believe that you can be expressive and you can be more expressive. You’ll need to want it and believe it enough. Most importantly, you’ll need to believe yourself enough.
Be reactive
If you want to be more expressive, you’ll need to do so appropriately and properly. You can do this by simply being reactive. Be more expressive in a way that’s relevant to any interactions at hand. You’ll need to be expressive in conversations, in interactions, in groups, and in any other social setting.
This is where being more expressive is most beneficial, after all. Keep that in mind. Be reactive the next time you interact with somebody. If your intended response calls for a specific emotion, express that emotion. This is a great way of letting the other person feel how invested you are in the interaction.
Be lively when speaking to others
Aside from being reactive, you will also need to be lively when it comes to interacting with other people. Being lively will also help you to be more expressive in itself. Being lively will help you become more optimistic. The more that’s the case for you, the easier it will be for you to be more expressive.
This tip will also make you become more upbeat whenever you interact with people. It’s a simple tip, but as long as you constantly keep it in mind, it will be immensely helpful for you in the long run.
Practice
Practice makes perfect, as they say. For as long as you keep practicing being more expressive, the more natural it will seem for you eventually.
Practice at home, practice with your friends and other people you trust, and practice with the strangers you meet along the way. Take note of every tip you’re going to read here and make use of them each time you interact with somebody. In time and with enough practice.
Be open about who you are
You can’t be expressive if you hide your true self. You can’t genuinely be expressive if you keep putting on a facade each time you interact with other people in a social setting. Being open about who you are is something you’ll need to start doing so you can finally be more expressive.
With that said, don’t hesitate to let others know who you are. Talk about the things that excite you and the things that trigger you. Let others get a full view of the book that is your entire being. There are still some things you need to keep to yourself, of course. What this simply means is that you’ll need others to get to know you.
You might be surprised at how good this is for your confidence too. That and your comfort towards other people. When others see you for who you are and accept you for who you are, being expressive will become something you won’t even have to think about.
Honesty is the easiest thing you can do
Be honest and you never have to remember anything in your life. You’ll simply talk about your own true experiences, from your own memories, and act as you are. Being honest will give you peace of mind. With this, you can be as free and as expressive as you can be.
This is another simple tip but it’s one that will help you as long as you practice it constantly. Make honesty a policy you’ll always abide by. Being expressive is one of the effects that will come out of it.
Avoid being sarcastic just to avoid tough conversations
Sarcasm has its place in social interactions. For example, if they’re well-meaning, if they’re done simply to make situations appropriately brighter, and if it’s done for the sake of lighthearted humor. However, some individuals use sarcasm as a defense mechanism. For example, if they use it to avoid tough conversations and the like.
If you want to be more expressive, you’ll need to avoid using sarcasm in this manner. In fact, stop avoiding tough situations altogether. This will damage your confidence and your belief in yourself.
Sarcasm, in particular, needs to be mentioned because it is one of the most common tools those who are unable to be more expressive use. If you fall under this umbrella, turn around and stop using sarcasm as a defense mechanism. Use your real emotions instead. It will help you be more expressive down the line.
Take classes
You might be surprised at this tip, but it is one of the most helpful things you can do. Take classes on public speaking. It is immensely helpful in making you be more expressive. Public speaking covers a lot of ground and this topic is one of them.
Not only this, but it will help you become better at speaking out, which in turn will make being expressive more natural to you.
Stop overthinking it
Overthinking is one of the worst things you can do as someone who’s trying to be more expressive. To be expressive and to do it effectively, you need to be expressive in an appropriate manner. If you overthink it, however, you’ll be expressive inappropriately.
Overthink and you’ll overact. You’ll overreact. You won’t be able to respond because of how clouded and misguided your mind will be. You won’t be able to react appropriately. Even worse, you’ll come off as awkward and iffy in the eyes of those around you.
Just take it easy. We’ve already talked about how you should relax your body, now it’s time for you to relax your mind. Stop overthinking. Stop coming up with ways everything can go wrong. It won’t always go that way. Even if it does, you can always bounce back from it. Just remember these things and it will help you stop overthinking.
Get the people closest to you to help you out
If the going gets tough, ask for assistance. You don’t have to go at this alone, however. Get the people closest to you and ask for their assistance.
Get those who are closest to you and ask them how expressive you are. Ask them how unexpressive you are. Then, ask them how you could be better. These people know you best so they’ll know exactly how much or how less expressive you are. They’ll also know how expressive you should be based on your personality.
Never hesitate to ask for help from your friends, with this trouble or with any other trouble. It’s one of the perks of having friends. No man is an island. You help them, and they help you.
Rest up
Rest up every once in a while. If you’re someone who’s not used to being expressive and is currently struggling at it, give yourself a break every once in a while.
If you’re someone who’s introverted, then you know how draining it is to go out and socialize. If this is the case, stay at home for a weekend and rest up. You can try again in the coming week. Besides, you’ll never be able to succeed at this if you burn yourself out to exhaustion.
Be better at conversations
To be expressive, you need to be way better at conversations. Master the art of conversation alongside your goal of being more expressive. These two are more symbiotic than you might think.
The better you are at conversations, the more natural you will be at expressing yourself. Of course, this topic covers a lot of ground. To know how to be better at conversations deserves another article of its town. Thankfully, you’ll have an abundance of that on this site. Be sure to read up on the other articles on this regarding conversation skills. Take your time and practice them on the field.
Improve your other social skills
Aside from conversation skills, you’ll need to learn a lot of other social skills as well. Being expressive is tied to many other social skills, after all. For example, if you want to be more expressive, you’ll need to be more confident. You’ll need to be more positive. You’ll need to be more in touch with your body language.
Although we’ve already discussed some of these in this article, you could always learn more about them. That said, after you’ve finished with this article and taken it to heart and mind, take the time to read up on the other reading materials here too.
To be more expressive requires patience and effort. Especially if you’re not used to it yet. You’ll need to study up, practice, and apply before you become a natural at it. Keep up your patience and your level of effort. You’ll get there eventually.