Body Language of Blank Face or Deadpan Face
Cue: Blank Face or Deadpan Face
Synonym(s): Poker Face (the), Pan Face, Stone Face, Block Face.
Description: A neutral, relaxed face, showing no expression. The face and jaw is relaxed and the eyes are generally vacant.
In One Sentence: A blank face is a signal that a person is vacant and is internalizing emotions or thoughts.
How To Use it: Use the deadpan face in poker when bluffing (or otherwise) such that people can not read your emotions. The blank face is also helpful when trying to appear in control of a situation. Emotional outbursts have been shown to be counterproductive in business settings. A face that lacks expression, especially when under high stress, shows others that you can keep things under control.
Context: High Stress.
Verbal Translation: “I really don’t want to be read or give any emotions away so I’m just going to wipe any hint of life from my face.”
Variant: During emotional downtime a person can also support a vacant expression as they relax inside their own mind for some time – even while in public.
Cue In Action: His opponent was searching and studying his face, he wasn’t sure if he had a good hand or was just bluffing. All he saw staring back at him was a Deadpan face.
Meaning and/or Motivation: This expression is used to either conceal emotion (on purpose) or be an actual reflection of a lack of emotion such as watching television, during deep thought or boredom.
Cue Cluster: When someone doesn’t want to be read, they will usually freeze solid and reduce arm and hand movements, their head will be still and unchanging. They don’t want to give others any clues at to their inner thoughts.
Body Language Category: Boredom, Closed body language, Defensive, Emotional body language, Masked emotions, Stressful body language.
Resources:
Burgress R. and C. Baldassarre. 2006. Ultimate guide to poker tells: devastate opponents by reading body language, table talk, chip moves, and much more. Chicago, Triumph Books.
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Mignault, Alain and Chaudhuri, Avi. The Many Faces of a Neutral Face: Head Tilt and Perception of Dominance and Emotion. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 2003 27(2): 111-132.
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