How to Cry on the Spot

Whether you're an actor or just need a few tears to add emotional depth to your story, mastering the ability to cry instantly is a valuable skill. With a bit of practice, you'll soon be able to shed tears at will.

Keep your eyes open as long as possible. The longer you keep them open, the drier and more uncomfortable they become. Gradually, this dryness will trigger tears to form, so try to avoid blinking until you feel the tears begin to form.

• If there's a fan nearby, position yourself so that the wind blows into your eyes to help trigger tears.
• Tears will form more quickly if you focus your gaze on a bright light.

Rubbing your eyes. Close your eyes and gently rub your eyelids for about 25 seconds, then open your eyes and focus on an object until the tears begin to fall. You may need some practice with this technique, but once you're used to it, it's highly effective. Rubbing your eyelids will cause the skin around your eyes to redden, but be careful not to rub too hard to avoid injuring your eyes.

• Gently press your index finger against the pupil in your eye. This can irritate the eye and potentially cause tears to form. However, be cautious not to accidentally poke your eye.

Bite the inside of your lip. The mild pain will often trigger tears, and you can use this technique if you need to cry instantly. This trick is especially useful when you combine biting your lip with thinking about something sad.

• Try holding your breath while biting the inside of your mouth. This can help you focus on the pain.
• You could also pinch sensitive areas of your body like your thigh or the skin between your thumb and index finger.

Apply a tear-inducing substance beneath your eyes. You can mimic the stars by using a menthol stick to create tears and gently applying it beneath your eyes. This method may cause eye irritation, but it looks very realistic. Just be sure to avoid putting it directly into your eye.

• You can also use eye drops to simulate tears. Simply apply a few drops in the corner of your eyes and let the liquid trickle down your face like real tears.

Chop an onion. Cutting an unwashed onion is a very effective way to trigger tears. This method is probably best for theatrical performances, but in real life, it's difficult to convince people that your tears are genuine if you take out an onion and start chopping it before the tears start to flow!

• If you can sneak into another room for a moment, grab a few onion slices and bring them near your eyes. Once the tears start, return to where people are talking.

Think of a moment when you felt truly moved. If you ever find yourself needing to cry, recalling a sad moment can put you in the right emotional state. For example, you could remember the loss of a loved one or a painful breakup to evoke that feeling.

• Other emotional triggers might include things like: losing something truly valuable, facing issues with your parents, or losing something you worked tirelessly to achieve.

Imagine yourself weak and with nowhere to turn. Many people carry the fear that they aren't as strong as they think. Visualizing yourself as small and vulnerable can bring out feelings of helplessness that can cause you to cry for real.

• Once you tap into this emotion, let the feeling of weakness overflow into tears of fear.
• For example, a common exercise in acting classes is to imagine yourself as a child abandoned and left to fend for yourself.

Visualize a heartbreaking scene in your mind. Sometimes, recalling past sad experiences can lead to real emotions that are hard to overcome. In such cases, try to imagine a deeply emotional scenario that doesn't involve personal events.

• For example, think of puppies abandoned on the side of the road. You want to save them all, but you can only rescue one. As you hold the puppy in your arms, you look back at the others you can't save.

Let tears of joy flow if you don't want to feel sadness. Try imagining happy tears welling up in your eyes, like when someone gives you a meaningful gift, when a war veteran reunites with their family, or when someone overcomes adversity.

• As long as you don't smile, no one will know whether you're crying out of happiness or sorrow.

Make a face as if you're genuinely crying. This technique involves closing your eyes and slightly frowning – just imagine how your face would look when you're truly emotional. If you're unsure what that expression looks like, try looking in a mirror, pretend you're crying, and pay attention to the sensations in your facial muscles.

• Lower the corners of your mouth just a bit.
• Try lifting the inner corners of your eyebrows slightly higher.
• Furrow your chin as if you're about to burst into tears. This expression might seem fake if overdone, so try to keep it subtle.

Focus on your breathing. Breathing is an essential part of acting, making others believe you're truly moved. Start sobbing out loud while taking deep breaths. Inhale deeply, as if you're gasping for air. Occasionally let out a small sob to make it sound more authentic.

• If no one is watching, try running in place for a few minutes to simulate shortness of breath. This also makes your skin look messy, like when someone is crying.

Lower your head or cover your face for added realism. After creating tears, making a crying expression, and breathing rapidly, you can add more gestures like hiding your face in your hands, lowering your head onto a table, or bowing your head to look convincingly sad.

• You could also bite your lip as if you're trying your hardest to hold back the tears.
• Look away as if you're trying to pretend you're not crying, to make it more convincing!

Add some moaning sounds to sound like you're crying. Your vocal cords will stretch when you cry, producing hoarse or moaning sounds if you try to speak while crying. Try to sound like you're choking on your words and inhale deeply to enhance the effect.

• This is essentially about using your mental focus to override your physical sensations, and the more you express yourself, the more your body will follow suit to create the desired effects.

Block out distractions. If you want to cry on command, you need to relax, breathe, and focus on the reason you're compelled to cry. By eliminating distractions, you can dive deeper into the emotions you're portraying.

Hide your face in the palm of your hand and smile if you don't feel sad. Sometimes it is difficult to tell whether someone is smiling or crying if they do it correctly. While covering your face, shake your shoulders and try to make your eyes a little red by rubbing them against your hand, and don’t smile when you remove your hand from your face.

• This method works best when performing on stage and the audience is not close enough to see your tears or observe the small details of your face.
• Make sure no sound escapes, or you’ll reveal that you’re laughing! If you accidentally let out a giggle, immediately follow it with a sob or sniffle, but don't exaggerate too much.

• Provide enough water for your body. Without sufficient hydration, you won’t be able to produce tears.
• Try to hold back your tears. If you find it hard to cry, sometimes pretending to be on the verge of tears is better, especially when you typically present a tough persona. This may come across as more authentic, making you appear more vulnerable.
• Practice crying by watching scenes with actors shedding tears in films.
• Try blinking quickly; sometimes this can trigger tears.
• Don’t overact or be too obvious, as it might make the person you're trying to convince doubt your emotions. Try to act like you don't want to cry in front of them and appear slightly embarrassed. You can even apologize for shedding tears!
• Don’t exaggerate; people may think you’re faking your tears.

• Don’t force an unfamiliar expression that makes you uncomfortable; instead, relax the muscles in your face.
• Never stare at the sun to try and make tears; most of the time, sunlight emits radiation strong enough to damage your vision!
• If you use a tear stick or any other tear-inducing substance, don’t let it get in your eyes to avoid damaging your eyesight!
• If you’ve applied dark eyeliner, tears will almost certainly ruin your makeup, and you’ll need to touch it up. However, smeared mascara can help enhance the effect.
• Don’t irritate your eyes too much. You could injure them if you’re not careful.