How to Maintain a Neutral Expression

Keeping a neutral face to avoid laughing or showing emotions can be quite challenging. Try to control your face and refrain from smiling. If you want to suppress laughter or keep your emotions hidden, you can redirect your focus. Paying close attention to the person you're interacting with is also a good way to maintain a serious expression, as it demonstrates your engagement in the conversation.

Take a deep breath. You can’t laugh while breathing in. If you're worried about losing your serious demeanor, take a deep breath in and slowly exhale. Repeat this several times until the urge to laugh fades away.

• Don’t inhale while your mouth is open – it will give you away. Instead, breathe in through your nose to keep your laughter hidden.
• To inhale properly, breathe in for 2-3 seconds and exhale for 3-4 seconds.

Press your lips together. Pressing your lips together can stop you from breaking into a big grin. Clamp your jaw and press your lips firmly together. When your jaw and lips are tightly pressed, you won’t be able to burst out laughing.

• If you're worried that pressing your lips may look too obvious, try clenching your jaw even harder. Clenching your jaw while pressing your lips together might look unusual, but just clenching your jaw on its own will be less noticeable.

Bite the inside of your cheek. If pressing your lips doesn’t work, try biting the inside of your cheek. It’s easier to keep a neutral expression when your cheeks are sucked in. And if all else fails, the discomfort will help you control your emotions.

• If you're concerned that biting the inside of your cheek is too obvious, pretend to wipe your mouth with your hand. While doing that, you can bite your cheek.

Cover your mouth. If you feel like you can’t suppress a smile, cover your mouth with your hand. Just try not to make it too obvious. Use your finger to cover the corners of your lips or press your lips together tightly.

Fake a cough or sneeze. If it’s really difficult to maintain a neutral expression, pretend to cough or sneeze. This gives you the opportunity to hide your face while you cover your mouth with your hand and scrunch your face.

Look away. If something funny happens and you're worried you won't be able to control yourself, try turning your gaze elsewhere. Focus on something above, beside, or near the source of the humor. This way, you’ll still appear attentive without bursting into a loud laugh.

• If looking away would be inappropriate – like in class or during a meeting – you can look down at your notebook. It’s a great solution that helps you hide your expression.

Look down at your feet. If you can't look away – perhaps because you're in the middle of a conversation or game – look down at your feet. It’s something people naturally do, and it gives you time to regain control of your expression.

Think about something else. If you’re worried you’ll burst out laughing, think about something sad. This will help relax your face. This strategy helps you avoid laughing, and no one will be able to read your emotions.

• For instance, think about a sad commercial you just saw.
• If you’re concerned that thinking about something sad will seem inappropriate, think about something else – you could count down from a large number or focus on something complex like a math formula.

Ask questions. If you want to maintain a serious face while talking to someone, engage more in the conversation. One great way to do this is by asking questions. It’s a method of steering the conversation away from what’s making you laugh.

• For example, if someone is telling you about their job and then suddenly shifts to something funny, try asking a question to bring the focus back to the original topic.
• You could say things like, "What subjects did you have to study to do this job?" or "How do you manage to work in this field?"

Practice what to say. If you find it difficult to keep a neutral face when joking or playing games, try practicing beforehand. Rehearse your jokes multiple times so that you can say them with a straight face. You can also prepare things to say during a game to distract yourself and maintain a serious expression.

• If you want to distract yourself from a game, talk about something completely unrelated to it.
• For example, if you’re playing cards, don’t talk about the game. Instead, discuss work or something that happened when you went to the store.

Think about similar situations you’ve experienced. People feel validated when you reinforce what they’ve said with your own experiences. Reflecting on past situations helps you disconnect from the present and control your expression.

• For example, if someone shares an embarrassing moment that made them feel hurt, share your own embarrassing story. This not only helps you avoid laughing but also helps the other person feel better about their experience.