Body Language of Forced Laughter
Cue: Forced Laughter
Synonym(s): Stress Laugh.
Description: Laughter that is not due to real enjoyment.
In One Sentence: Forced laughter indicates the desire to appease another person.
How To Use it: Stress laughing shows that you are willing to submit to the authority of another person or laugh to be part of a group or simply to be polite. Laughing at bad jokes is useful to lower ranking employees whom should, by all means, laugh at the jokes of their bosses, no matter how funny they are found to be. This sends the message that you are willing to be a “team player” and placate.
Context: General, Stress.
Verbal Translation: “I’m not really happy nor do I find that funny, but I’m laughing to show my appeasement and submission to you and to join in on your amusement.”
Variant: See Laughter.
Cue In Action: a) The boss made a joke that no one found funny, but everyone still laughed. b) She was presenting her findings to the University. She giggled often showing her nervousness and lack of confidence, making everyone take her a little less seriously, but still welcoming her speech and empathizing with her discomfort.
Meaning and/or Motivation: Laughter that is meant to disguise hidden anxiety or disagreement, stress, be polite, or in effort to connect with new people. We use a stress-laugh to dispel and ease tension both for our own purpose and that of others. Laughter is a fear based response and also shows others that we are submitting to them.
Cue Cluster: Other agreement indicators such as head nods, eye contact and will accompany a forced laughter. It can also be accompanied by blushing, uneasy or quivering voice, and pacifying cue such as face and neck touching.
Body Language Category: Appease, Embarrassment (nonverbal), Energy Displacement, Excited body language, Fearful body language, Nervous body language, Shy nonverbal, Stressful body language, Submissive body language.
Resources:
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