Micro expressions are fleeting facial expressions that occur when a person is experiencing a strong emotion, such as fear, anger, or surprise. These expressions are universal and can be observed in people from all cultures. They are often very brief, lasting only a fraction of a second, and can be easily missed if you're not paying attention.
1/25th of a second . Unlike regular facial expressions, these "leaks" reveal a person's true emotions before they have a chance to mask them. Whether you are in sales, law enforcement, or just want to improve your emotional intelligence, training your eyes to catch these fleeting moments is a superpower. The good news? You don’t need a thousand-dollar seminar to start. Here is how you can train for free. 1. Master the "Big Seven" Universal Emotions Before you can spot a micro-expression, you must know the specific muscle movements (Action Units) for the seven universal emotions identified by Dr. Paul Ekman: Happiness: Crow’s feet wrinkles, pushed-up cheeks, and movement from the muscle that orbits the eye. Sadness: Drooping upper eyelids, losing focus in the eyes, and slight pulling down of lip corners. Fear: Eyebrows pulled up and together, upper eyelids raised, mouth tensed. Disgust: Nose wrinkling and upper lip raised. Anger: Eyebrows lowered and knit together, narrowing of the lips, and eyes glaring. Surprise: Eyebrows raised, eyes widened, mouth open (but jaw dropped without tension). Contempt: One side of the mouth raised (the only asymmetrical expression). 2. Best Free Online Training Resources While many advanced tools are behind paywalls, these platforms offer excellent free entry-level training: Science of People (Vanessa Van Edwards) micro expression training free