The 5 types of smiles

People might be self-conscious of their posture and body language, but how often do you think about the message your smile communicates? During a recent visit to our office, image consultant and former Mr. Singapore Joshua Luke taught us that smiles can make or break a first impression. Give your new client a tight-lipped smile, and she'll assume that you're a little standoffish. But flash someone a smile that's too friendly and you risk giving him the creeps.

To clarify the power of a smile, Coach Luke narrowed down the hundreds of different smiles we see in everyday life down to five that we tend to use in practical situations. There's the slight friendly smile, the basic friendly smile, the approachable friendly smile, the social friendly smile, and the extremely friendly smile. Mastering each one requires just a subtle shift in expression, but that tiny movement can make a world of difference in influencing the people around you.

So what exactly is the difference between a basic friendly smile and an approachable friendly smile? And in what situations should you use them? Watch the video above to see Coach Luke and model Novell Tan, the Miss Singapore International 2011 Miss Personality Award Winner, demonstrating the five types of smiles and how people interpret them.

VIDEO: Joshua Luke and Novell Tan show us the 5 types of smiles