Somanypeopleunderestimatethepowerandimportanceofasmile,thatsimplelittlefacialexpressioncharacterizedbyanupwardcurvingofthecornersofthemouth.
Asmilehasmanymeanings:pleasure,friendliness,welcome,amusement,andmanymore;anditispartofauniversalbodylanguagethatdoesn’tneedanyextrainterpretation.
Plusasmile,withallitssimplicityandbeauty,canbeaveryimportantfactorinmanyaspectsofourlives:
Youfallinlovewithanewcountryyouvisitbecauseitspeoplegreetyouwithawelcomingsmileeverywhereyougo;othercountriesyoujustdon’tlikeeventhoughtheymighthavemorehistory,nature,entertainmentandwhatnotbecausetheirpeopledon’tseemsofriendlyoraccepting.
Youfeellikebuyingfromacertainstorewhenthevendorwelcomesyouinwithasmile,sometimesevenifyouwouldn’tinitiallyhaveboughtanything;andinotherstores,eventhoughtheyhaveexactlywhatyouneedorbetter,youdecidetowalkawaybecausethevendordoesn’tlookwelcomingatall.
Youwanttogiveawaiteragoodtipwhenheservesyouwithasmile,evenifthefoodturnsoutnotthatgood;ontheotherhand,sometimesyou’llhavesomeofthebestfoodever,butyouwon’tfeellikegivingthewaiteratip,evenifyoudo,becausehewasgrumpy.
Moreandmoreexamplesfromoureverydaylifeshowhowmuchasimplesmilecanchangeeverything.
ForeverengravedinmymindwillbethesmilingfacesofthepeopleofThailand,thefriendlypizzadeliveryboy,thewelcomingsupermarketvendor,thenicecashieratthebank,…etc.
Itisthesesmilesthatkeepmewantingtogoback,andthatkeepusallwantingtogoback;lookingatitfromanotherview,ifwebreakitdownusingbusinesssense,asmileisoneofthemosteffectivemeanstogeneratesalesanddevelopcustomerloyalty.
Ontopofallthat,asmileisaverysimpleandeasythingtodo,soitamazeswhynoonebotherstodoit,itnotonlymakesthepersoninfrontofyoubetter,butitalsomakesyoufeelbetteraswell,andI’mnotmakingthisup,ithasbeenpsychologicallyproven.
Personally,I’dliketoseemoresmilingfacesinthisworld;intheairportswhenIenteranewcountry,incompanies,governmentagencies,restaurants,hotels,banks,everywhere;andIthinkitisuptogovernmentstocampaignaboutthis,andevenmakeitobligatoryincertainimportantplaceslikeairports,hospitals,hotels…etc.
Let’sallsimplysmile.