My husband refused to binge watch. After watching one show, maybe two on a good night, he would turn to me and say, ‘I’m over it”. Game of Thrones, “no more tonight''. Killing Eve, “that’s enough today”. Orange is the New Black - well, that didn’t even get a look in.
He was no fun on a rainy Sunday afternoon. That is, until he found Amazon Prime’s new production of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. He found his show - and with that a binge-watcher was born.
I didn’t watch it with him. I was far too busy with Nailed It and OITNB. Clearly my next musings will be on how to have a healthy marriage; what a picture of marital perfection we are sitting on the couch, glued to our personal devices.
Jack Ryan is one of those action packed shows. Desk-jockey CIA analyst is thrust into a world of chasing bad guys like he was born to do it. What will happen next!
The best part is the inevitable sideshow as Mark, engrossed in the action, jumps; winces; and at times exclaims aloud, as the 'plot' twists and turns.
In one of the trailers for the series, Ryan’s boss - the character James Greer - asks Jack whether he knows what he is doing. Incredulous, Jack retorts, “I do know what I am doing!”
Greer replies, “Well, tell it to your face.”
Non Verbal Signals trip all of us up. Mainly because we literally can’t see ourselves. Poker players understand this issue, many of them covering their eyes and mouths as they play.
I remember someone telling me that I looked disinterested in a meeting. I was shocked. I couldn't have been more interested: my head was turned down, my eyes almost closed and I am pretty sure I was frowning. “That’s how I think,'' I exclaimed. “Well, you should find a new way of thinking,” was their quick reply.
Point taken.
Resting bitch face is the most commonly known Non Verbal Signal. Yawning is a big one as well. Staring out the window, as I do when I am listening and thinking about something, is a total no-no. Picking your phone up is the worst - and yes, we can see you reading your phone under the table.
Most of the time we are unaware of the impression we are creating on our audience or colleagues. Resting bitch face became well known because it made the ‘wearer’ unapproachable. Some of the nicest people I know were shocked to find they created that impression. Just as I was shocked to find that my ‘Resting Listening Face’ in fact looked like an 'I Don’t Give A Shit’ face.
A smile not only goes a long way to building friends and fans but smiling also releases incredible chemicals into your body that will literally make you feel better. Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin and Endorphins are all released when you smile. Ummm, so that's a triple bottom line benefit for all you ROI-obsessed people out there (you feel better, you look interested and people want to engage with you).
Ask a colleague to keep you in check and offer to do the same for them. And maybe from time-to-time pull out your best resting bitch face, just to keep everyone on theirs toes. The odd unexpected action always works well to keep an audience guessing: whether they are watching Jack Ryan or in the boardroom.