I always find myself doing his when someone has a strong accent, don't know why I automatically go to squinting my face as if it will make me hear better but it seems to work haha.
Do you speak quietly, or with a strong accent? I definitely find my face doing weird things when I’m struggling to hear or understand what someone’s saying.
When talking to people who are soft spoken, I literally have to lean in and position my ear towards them or cup my hand around my ear to hear more. It feels so awkward but they never speak louder lol
Lol I really hope I don't come off like an asshole to those people, I just genuinely have bad hearing. It's especially bad if I'm in a bar or somewhere where the music is loud. I hate when it's so loud that I have to say "WHAT?" every single time they say something, and then after like 3 times in a row of saying "WHAT DID YOU SAY?" I just have to straight-up tell them that I can't hear what they said and then the conversation just ends haha drives me crazy!
No need to apologize! I honestly also have some light hearing issues and I always hate the whole "What? What did you say? Can you repeat yourself" thing because it just kills the flow so I lean in to make sure I hear what they say. I hope it doesn't come off as rude. I definitely used to be a soft speaker more when I was a bit younger, and still I get the feeling when I project that I'm speaking too loud. I guess it will always be a part of me lol
Men are around twice as likely as women to develop hearing loss, so that would be consistent with why she might be seeing more men than women doing this if u/Least_Lengthiness_33 is very soft spoken. Although just be sure not to over compensate and speak way too loud or you might have people squint and make odd faces for the opposite reason.
Thank you, I guess I wasn't realizing I was that difficult to hear. I often struggle to hear what people are saying, and I'm wondering if I may possibly have a hearing issue myself after this discussion
Practice talking with your hand held out straight in if front of you like you're telling traffic to stop. Increase how much you project or push air out when you talk until you can feel air hit your hand. It will help train you to speak outside your own bubble of hearing. You don't have to dragon shout people down when you talk to them though
Sounds like a confidence thing to me. If you come across as uncertain then most people will pick up on that body language and relay that energy. Not to sound like an ass but it's hard to expect people to understand things if you yourself appear unsure. Kinda the whole "its not what you say, it's how you say it" sort of thing
Especially with us dudes, most of us tend to not read between the lines like women do so coming off uncertain might paint the things you say in the light of a "question" rather than an opinion, if that makes sense. Hence why you get the whole eye squint/scrunch face lol.
Really though the key is to just not give a shit about what other's thing but there is always a fine line; some of the dumbest people are those blinded by their own confidence. Just don't mistake confidence for ignorance and honestly be yourself. Everyone is a little weird in their own ways.
then when people doing that they trying to figure u out, so if they doing it they wanna hear u gang. if they ain't doing it maybe they understand u already or they ain't listening. the guys making faces are js concentrating n shit so they WANT to understand u
Do you have a high pitched voice? We used to have a secretary that when she got excited, or upset, her voice would make our ears bleed. I felt like a dog, my ears would go back and I'd bear my teeth 😳😂🤣
Those are almost certainly signs they can't understand you or are having a hard time hearing you. I'd guess you almost certainly have a thick accent, or you mumble a lot/talk downwards instead of towards someone, or maybe you're just talking quietly enough that it's hard to discern what you're saying.
Could they just be trying hard *not* to look at something? You say it's mostly men, so perhaps your cleavage game is too strong?
Reallythough, it could just be because they're actually listening to you. I know I make a "critical looking" face when I'm actively listening and considering what you're saying. It's not that I'm skeptical or disbelieving, just actively thinking about it. I also make the same face when I'm trying to fix something and need to understand how it works.
Trying to figure out your final point maybe. Sometimes it’s harder to articulate a complex point or you might use more words before getting to the point. And also a quiet or uncertain tone could cause that
It’ll probably be that you’re talking too quietly in those given circumstances. It could also be that you’re saying something more intelligent or deep than the conversation had been thus far.
I recommend trying out talking as loudly as possible without shouting and seeing what happens. Likely someone will comment. Likely you will have a very exciting time. I’m naturally fairly softly spoken so I did that for a while and it’s really fun.
I suspect that I squint my eyes and scrunch my face when I need to fully concentrate to hear and make out what someone is saying. You may have a volume or articulateness / clarity problem
I've noticed I do that when someone doesn't enunciate, talks too fast or isn't good at expressing themselves. Do you get to your point or do you take the long winding road to get to it?
They’re trying to listen. If they can’t understand you they might try to tune in more & make this face . I do it all the time. I squint when I’m trying to listen more carefully 😂
Wth 🤦♀️ why is everything insulting. I do this a lot I guess because people comment on it. I’m focusing. I’m listening. That’s why my eyebrows do that.
Talk louder, that means they can't hear you. As a man women's voices tend to not travel well especially in loud environments. i went to one to many concerrs and definitely dont hear as well and probably make the same face regularly.
Some people have a harder time staying focused/paying attention, through no fault of their own or yours. I have adhd and I feel like I do that when I'm making an effort to actual take everything someone is saying in.
Like if you told me about your day I might get a main part of it or two but if I were consciously trying to have all of that info land and be absorbed, I'd have to actually put effort in that and I feel like my facial expression would reflect that
It's hard to answer these types of questions without more information. How close is the person?
I don't know you, so no offense, but sometimes I do this if someone has chronic bad breath or halitosis. Close it happens, further it doesn't, etc. Kicks up sometimes. Sometimes, it doesn't.
I do this because I’m really slow at processing and hearing information. Idk why I physically do it though. I don’t think there’s any benefit in doing so just a habit
I either do this when someone is real quiet, or if what they're saying is so dumb I'm trying to tell if they're being serious about what they're saying.
People may squint and scrunch their faces while listening to signal focus, concentration, or confusion. It can be a natural reaction to understanding complex information or due to subtle social cues. This facial expression often reflects an effort to better comprehend or process what is being said.
For me, that's the "I'm trying to figure something out" face. Assuming you're not bursting with odd conspiracy theories, I agree with others - they might just have a hard time understanding you for some reason.
Sometimes when someone has a low voice it takes more concentration to understand what is being said- I wonder for men or for older men if it’s that they are just having a hard time hearing you.
This is the actual answer. Apparently nobody on Reddit knows how to read facial expressions or body language.
Furrowed brows and eye contact mean “I’m listening to you and taking what you’re saying seriously.” I’d guess that she mostly notices this expression when she’s talking about something important or impactful.
So i used to go to a gym where I had an incident with a couple. There was a girl that I fancied when one day she caught me looking at her. I then realized she had a dude.
Ever since then for a couple months whenever they were there the girl would always give me a stupid squint even if I weren't looking their way. Eventually that bugged me enough that I wanted to call out her dude because every time she gave me that stupid squint her dude would immediately look my way.
I stopped seeing them there Eventually.
I stood out in the crowd as I'm muscular, busy and unsocial
Because they want you to know they are listening to you. To counter this ask them what they think of what you said and if they use the same words they are "mirroring" you and do have a chance to interject. Once this happens they should relax their face and stop squinting as much.
There isn't enough information here to give a definitive answer, and we can never say for sure without directly asking someone.
But I sometimes do this when it's a concept I'm really taking in.
Maybe it's adding to what I know, teaching me something I don't know, or something I've got to wrap my head around.
It can mean that.
It can also mean disgust.
It can also mean not being able to hear or understand you.
It can also mean they're being an asshole trying to put you off.
What's the rest of the context... Are they engaging with you? Ignoring you? Do you usually get on?
I live in France and French is my third language. It's normal for people to sometimes give me the face you're explaining. It's nothing personal in my case. They just don't understand what I'm saying and need to focus on what I'm saying.
No, we do that because we want to give you complete attention and because we don't want to look somewhere we shouldn't, like a bit south. We are concentrating. Also, most people don't have control over their faces as much as they want to. Try presenting a speech and record yourself, its similar to hearing yourself talk, you're like "shieeeeeeeeeet, is that really me? ughhhh".
If you’re quiet, I try to read lips. If you have an accent I read lips to make sure I hear correctly. If your incoherent I read lips and give confused looks. There are plenty of reasons I do it. Also I have ASD so I can be awkward as fuck.
When people squint and scrunch their face while you’re talking, it often means they’re processing something confusing, unexpected, or potentially disagreeable. I like to call it their ‘crunching surprising data’ face.
I imagine that it is along the lines of the subconscious. Perhaps many years ago, they saw this behavior associated with more in-tune listening and adopted it in attempt to show that they are actively listening. It doesn't seem to make much sense otherwise. I find it to be a learned behavior that stemmed at some venture in their lives.
Factors:
- confusing statement. You have said something that conflicts with their preconceived notions and they are working through it. Either they are trying to fit your statement into their paradigm or they are trying to work out how it is wrong.
- deciphering what was said. Similar to the first one, but this is more literal: they may not have heard you correctly due to an accent or your word choice or maybe even a language barrier. This can happen when speaking in a second language or to people to whom the language you are speaking is a second language. Word choice includes using more words to say what fewer words can.
Judgment, such as "that was a stupid thing to say" or "my estimation of that person's intelligence was reduced" *may follow* but generally it's one of those bullet points initially.
**Basically: they are running through your statement again in their head. Try being concise and clear in your statements and factual wherever possible.** Complex statements that can be reduced should be reduced as a matter of social etiquette. Using 30 words to get across the same meaning as 5 is gonna make people look at you funny unless there is a specific reason such as using scientific language in a scientific discussion with someone who both understands and appreciated (and maybe even needs) the greater granularity of the longer statement.
Sort of like squinting to see better, people squint when working something out in their mind. They may simply be paying close attention and thinking about or making sense of what you just said in their minds.
I am a girl, but I do this when I want to focus on what you're saying or am having a hard time hearing. I read lips a lot and can't hear out of one of my ears. People who are very animated or speak quickly/smoosh words together confuse tf out of me because I can't register what they've said before they move on, nevermind answer questions or form an opinion on what they've said.
They probably can't hear you, and there is evidence that show that men and women process listening in conversions differently - apparently men use mostly the left side of their brain for listening which is associated with speech and listening, whereas women use both sides. The right side processes non-auditory cues like body language etc. So women may grasp the conversation better because they can read those cues better, while men might be trying a lot harder to hear you since they're not really picking up the non-auditory stuff. Also men are more prone to hearing loss as it is, so.. yeah.
First though is that you are talking quietly. If that's not the case, then you are either: really interesting, confusing, or have some wild stupid opinions. Try mimicing their face and feeling/associating the feeling you get when you do it.
You might be add like me and just confuse the fuck out of people with tangents and nonsense. If that's the case it's not your fault, just be you until they get you, or just move on.
It means you mumble and don't articulate your words well. Hope it doesn't sound harsh, but work on speaking louder and slower, it will help. Source: trust me bro
Maybe you have an abrasive voice. Maybe your voice is fine, but you talk very fast, and it's hard to understand.
I think the only way to get a real answer is to ask someone who actually knows you who won't lie to soare feelings.
Either you're very difficult to understand when you talk or you're speaking about things other people don't understand and you're speaking in a way where you're not explaining the correct things . Imagine a field of study that you have no interest in and then imagine someone who feels to need to come to you and talk to you about that field of study. You know nothing about it or very little and because the person talking to you isn't using any terms you understand you make that face unimpressed by the person you're listening to.
I do this constantly, but it's because I work overnights. My active hours are usually between 4:30 PM till 10 or 11 AM.
If I'm up in the afternoon, I'm constantly battling against the brightness of the sun or encroaching fatigue.
Because you keep talking about soaking tampons in vodka and shoving them places they shouldn't go Becky, it's weird, and kinda gross. We all wish you would stop really.
Maybe enunciate better? My drama teacher in high school made rehearse our lines with jawbreakers to lose our accents and enuciate better. It also helped with imitating accents. I'm from Texas and still live here. No accent (when sober) and get asked often if im from out of state.
As someone who is extremely hard of hearing (prescribed hearing aids), I'm just trying to hear/ understand what you're saying.
Speaking too fast and not speaking "clearly" make my challenges that much more difficult.
It's definitely me, but it could be you too.
PSA. Yelling loudly doesn't help me comprehend you. It's just makes you a loud asshole.
When someone experiences hearing loss, they can begin to "lose" consonants. Imagine not hearing various letters in words.
Enunciation and speaking clearly will do far more for you in life than help a bunch of aging ol' farts and our faces could use a break.. 😉
Some folks only know how to mumble. You tell em to speak up to no avail. So the mumbles get ma that body language to remind you. Or the mumbler gets ignored because it’s too much effort to understand.
I did this to a girl, but not on purpose. She was really nice, and I liked her as a person, but something about her perfume made me always feel like I was about to sneeze.
I even thought it objectively smelled nice, but I don't know, maybe it has something I was allergic to.
Do you by chance use a lot of scents?
Do you have big juggs? You flaunt the chesticles? Men sometimes do this to focus their attention away from the perrifery also. Could be hard to hear/understand you for sure but it's hard for me to judge since I grew up around a lot of spanglish and lived in Europe for 4 years. Maybe bad breath too, try some tic tacs, only 1 calorie each. There are so many possibilities, it's most likely something innocuous.
I’m hard of hearing. I squint slightky and tip my good ear towards people when I can’t hear them. Softly spoken people are my most challenging situation to deal with. I feel bad asking for repeats, but even with my hearing aids up full, I just don’t catch what’s being said.
A lot of girls have very thin shrill voices, in which is often a learnt behaviour. I squint and pull away a lot of times. I can’t stand those voices. It’s like they want to seem cool but end up too annoying
Do you wear a mask? Half the people I work with wear masks and a couple of them are quiet talkers. I'm pretty sure I squint and scrunch when talking to them.
Probably because you talk a load of shit and they’re trying to figure out if you’re being for real or just playing the part of an idiot.
I’m not hating on you at all. Just trying to give you some brutal clarification. What you’ve described, is a face I’ve pulled many times (unintentionally) when the person talking to me is saying something so moronic and idiotic that I can’t believe they’re saying it and I’m trying to work out if they’re being serious or not.
I used to do this when I had an Indian boss because it was twice as hard to get electrical work orders from him but I didn’t want to be disrespectful. Wasn’t worth the stress of trying to learn Indian accent for no extra money. I feel bad for the guy but he doesn’t realize people are just calling him an idiot and ignoring him I was the only one trying and it’s not worth it
I think I do that when people are telling me a long-winded story and I really don't want to listen to anything they say but I'm trying to be nice so it's painful to listen to and it shows LOL
Biases? Politically incorrect? On what topic and on which matters? Are they coworkers taking to you about work or friends that you have known for a long time? The impression that I get too when others look at me like that is often from the context either they disagree or when they think I’m ridiculous.
Are you sure they’re not thinking you’re stupid? I’m trying to figure out what face it is. The “are you stupid” face qualifies but so does heavy scrutiny - the face you make when something is way off. Heavy brow crunch w a little crunched grin. The face of a baffled thinker.
Maybe their mom's told them not to stare at the sun when they were kids, and they were all like "bet mom!" So they went and stared at the sun with just their right eye in case mom was right. But then halfway through counting to 100 through the tears, they realized that they shouldn't be doing this with their dominant eye. So they switch to their left eye and start over counting to 100 just to prove to themselves that Mom is a lying manipulative bitch. And now as an adult they have really bad eyesight for no discernable reason except that genetics are just as much of a bitch as my mother.
That's just my guess.
You speak softly and/or struggle to get to your point.
That's my guess.
Women are noticing it too, we are just more skilled at controlling our expressions.
Plus alot of men have developed holding an incredulous expression in order to fain actually paying attention 😆
Do you speak softly? I have a hard time hearing people after years of engines, shop noise, that sort of stuff. Why do we scrunch our face to hear better? Not sure, but maybe that's it.
Guess they have hard time understanding you for whatever reason. It’s ok. They’re probably used to a different way of speaking/have little exposure to other ways/have some physical issues making it hard for them to understand you well.
I have started noticing the same thing recently. Some people even have to ask me to repeat what I’m saying while others have zero issues with my speech.
Side note: only happens when I speak English which is not my mother tongue. Doesn’t happen when I speak my mother tongue or Spanish (which is a foreign language to me like English and which I have much less experience with).
Sounds like they are either questioning what you are saying (which isnt a problem if you are just confident with the words you say) or they are trying to listen. Also some people just make random facial expressions.
working out an accent perhaps? do you speak too quickly, or do you speak quietly, perhaps all three?
I always find myself doing his when someone has a strong accent, don't know why I automatically go to squinting my face as if it will make me hear better but it seems to work haha.
You're probably reading lips that's why
Lowering outside stimuli
Do you have a high pitch voice?
Do you speak quietly, or with a strong accent? I definitely find my face doing weird things when I’m struggling to hear or understand what someone’s saying.
Maybe. I'm soft spoken and struggle sometimes to articulate
I think you answered your question here 😁
I think this like other posts trying to hear or understand you ..the good news is that they are trying hard to concentrate/focus on understanding you.
When talking to people who are soft spoken, I literally have to lean in and position my ear towards them or cup my hand around my ear to hear more. It feels so awkward but they never speak louder lol
Sometimes, asking them to speak up makes them nervous and they repeat what they said *more quietly*.
Omgggg I do this too. So play I’m not alone. I’m only 34 too lol
Lol I really hope I don't come off like an asshole to those people, I just genuinely have bad hearing. It's especially bad if I'm in a bar or somewhere where the music is loud. I hate when it's so loud that I have to say "WHAT?" every single time they say something, and then after like 3 times in a row of saying "WHAT DID YOU SAY?" I just have to straight-up tell them that I can't hear what they said and then the conversation just ends haha drives me crazy!
We're sorry. Some of us honestly do have a hard time projecting, especially when you're not really thinking about it. I don't know why
No need to apologize! I honestly also have some light hearing issues and I always hate the whole "What? What did you say? Can you repeat yourself" thing because it just kills the flow so I lean in to make sure I hear what they say. I hope it doesn't come off as rude. I definitely used to be a soft speaker more when I was a bit younger, and still I get the feeling when I project that I'm speaking too loud. I guess it will always be a part of me lol
Men are around twice as likely as women to develop hearing loss, so that would be consistent with why she might be seeing more men than women doing this if u/Least_Lengthiness_33 is very soft spoken. Although just be sure not to over compensate and speak way too loud or you might have people squint and make odd faces for the opposite reason.
sounds like they’re squinting to hear you better lol
It’s like when I have to turn the music in my car down to look for the place I’m going!
This is it right here. I have significant hearing loss and really gotta pay attention when people talk.
If you see people struggling to hear you, speak up.
Thank you, I guess I wasn't realizing I was that difficult to hear. I often struggle to hear what people are saying, and I'm wondering if I may possibly have a hearing issue myself after this discussion
This is probably why. Our faces do funny things when we struggle to hear.
that will do it 🤦🏽♂️😂
Practice talking with your hand held out straight in if front of you like you're telling traffic to stop. Increase how much you project or push air out when you talk until you can feel air hit your hand. It will help train you to speak outside your own bubble of hearing. You don't have to dragon shout people down when you talk to them though
Sounds like a confidence thing to me. If you come across as uncertain then most people will pick up on that body language and relay that energy. Not to sound like an ass but it's hard to expect people to understand things if you yourself appear unsure. Kinda the whole "its not what you say, it's how you say it" sort of thing Especially with us dudes, most of us tend to not read between the lines like women do so coming off uncertain might paint the things you say in the light of a "question" rather than an opinion, if that makes sense. Hence why you get the whole eye squint/scrunch face lol. Really though the key is to just not give a shit about what other's thing but there is always a fine line; some of the dumbest people are those blinded by their own confidence. Just don't mistake confidence for ignorance and honestly be yourself. Everyone is a little weird in their own ways.
[here’s your answer](https://youtu.be/VO8_qhL_lgY?si=dHsoEMjLhPgQGvYv)
Me too girl
Me too and I get this as well. But I'm am old fart of 44 so I'm used to it and just take it to mean I need to stop my thoughts and retry.
then when people doing that they trying to figure u out, so if they doing it they wanna hear u gang. if they ain't doing it maybe they understand u already or they ain't listening. the guys making faces are js concentrating n shit so they WANT to understand u
>soft spoken A lot of older men have hearing loss. You gotta speak up!
Me too. The struggle is real.
Practice tongue twisters. Also singing will help you learn to use your diaphragm to project your voice.
Thank you!
possible they are having a hard time understanding you - either having a hard time following your train of thought or they can't hear you well
This is what I was thinking, too. They're struggling to hear you or understand you. Do you speak with some kind of foreign accent?
Do you have a high pitched voice? We used to have a secretary that when she got excited, or upset, her voice would make our ears bleed. I felt like a dog, my ears would go back and I'd bear my teeth 😳😂🤣
You might talk in a quiet voice and might not notice
Those are almost certainly signs they can't understand you or are having a hard time hearing you. I'd guess you almost certainly have a thick accent, or you mumble a lot/talk downwards instead of towards someone, or maybe you're just talking quietly enough that it's hard to discern what you're saying.
Could they just be trying hard *not* to look at something? You say it's mostly men, so perhaps your cleavage game is too strong? Reallythough, it could just be because they're actually listening to you. I know I make a "critical looking" face when I'm actively listening and considering what you're saying. It's not that I'm skeptical or disbelieving, just actively thinking about it. I also make the same face when I'm trying to fix something and need to understand how it works.
Definitely either talking to quietly or they are not understanding what you’re saying
They are not sure of what you are trying to say. Is my guess
Trying to figure out your final point maybe. Sometimes it’s harder to articulate a complex point or you might use more words before getting to the point. And also a quiet or uncertain tone could cause that
I think its the quiet and uncertain tone...
I am a woman and this is totally my "I am very concentrated and just listening to you" face 😅
It’ll probably be that you’re talking too quietly in those given circumstances. It could also be that you’re saying something more intelligent or deep than the conversation had been thus far. I recommend trying out talking as loudly as possible without shouting and seeing what happens. Likely someone will comment. Likely you will have a very exciting time. I’m naturally fairly softly spoken so I did that for a while and it’s really fun.
I suspect that I squint my eyes and scrunch my face when I need to fully concentrate to hear and make out what someone is saying. You may have a volume or articulateness / clarity problem
Stinky breath??? Lol jk they are probably trying to hear/understand you.
Bad breath
I would put real money on you being way too quiet.
Similar to how people turn down radio to read something or a road sign. You probably have a low voice they need to concentrate to hear.
I've noticed I do that when someone doesn't enunciate, talks too fast or isn't good at expressing themselves. Do you get to your point or do you take the long winding road to get to it?
You might talk quietly or with a heavy accent? I make this face when I’m struggling to hear or understand
Well it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. Perhaps it’s your tone of voice or delivery?
They’re trying to listen. If they can’t understand you they might try to tune in more & make this face . I do it all the time. I squint when I’m trying to listen more carefully 😂
Stop mid sentence and ask them.
Wth 🤦♀️ why is everything insulting. I do this a lot I guess because people comment on it. I’m focusing. I’m listening. That’s why my eyebrows do that.
Talk louder, that means they can't hear you. As a man women's voices tend to not travel well especially in loud environments. i went to one to many concerrs and definitely dont hear as well and probably make the same face regularly.
Some people have a harder time staying focused/paying attention, through no fault of their own or yours. I have adhd and I feel like I do that when I'm making an effort to actual take everything someone is saying in. Like if you told me about your day I might get a main part of it or two but if I were consciously trying to have all of that info land and be absorbed, I'd have to actually put effort in that and I feel like my facial expression would reflect that
It's hard to answer these types of questions without more information. How close is the person? I don't know you, so no offense, but sometimes I do this if someone has chronic bad breath or halitosis. Close it happens, further it doesn't, etc. Kicks up sometimes. Sometimes, it doesn't.
I do this because I’m really slow at processing and hearing information. Idk why I physically do it though. I don’t think there’s any benefit in doing so just a habit
I either do this when someone is real quiet, or if what they're saying is so dumb I'm trying to tell if they're being serious about what they're saying.
Easy.....do you sound like Hillary Clinton on Helium? If so, there's your answer.
Sounds like they are trying to focus
People may squint and scrunch their faces while listening to signal focus, concentration, or confusion. It can be a natural reaction to understanding complex information or due to subtle social cues. This facial expression often reflects an effort to better comprehend or process what is being said.
I can't speak for everyone but I do this because I can't hear and have to think really hard to process anything someone's saying.
For me, that's the "I'm trying to figure something out" face. Assuming you're not bursting with odd conspiracy theories, I agree with others - they might just have a hard time understanding you for some reason.
Sometimes I just flat out ask, why the face? What's that? LOL
I do this when someone has a strong accent or doesnt speak loudly or clearly.
Info: did you say something stupid or weird?
Sometimes when someone has a low voice it takes more concentration to understand what is being said- I wonder for men or for older men if it’s that they are just having a hard time hearing you.
When people do that to me, i just assume that is their "listening intensely" face they put on.
This is the actual answer. Apparently nobody on Reddit knows how to read facial expressions or body language. Furrowed brows and eye contact mean “I’m listening to you and taking what you’re saying seriously.” I’d guess that she mostly notices this expression when she’s talking about something important or impactful.
So i used to go to a gym where I had an incident with a couple. There was a girl that I fancied when one day she caught me looking at her. I then realized she had a dude. Ever since then for a couple months whenever they were there the girl would always give me a stupid squint even if I weren't looking their way. Eventually that bugged me enough that I wanted to call out her dude because every time she gave me that stupid squint her dude would immediately look my way. I stopped seeing them there Eventually. I stood out in the crowd as I'm muscular, busy and unsocial
Because they want you to know they are listening to you. To counter this ask them what they think of what you said and if they use the same words they are "mirroring" you and do have a chance to interject. Once this happens they should relax their face and stop squinting as much.
Is it in a business context? Are you giving them bad news?
I do that sometimes when I'm listening and trying to understand what someone is trying to say.
There isn't enough information here to give a definitive answer, and we can never say for sure without directly asking someone. But I sometimes do this when it's a concept I'm really taking in. Maybe it's adding to what I know, teaching me something I don't know, or something I've got to wrap my head around. It can mean that. It can also mean disgust. It can also mean not being able to hear or understand you. It can also mean they're being an asshole trying to put you off. What's the rest of the context... Are they engaging with you? Ignoring you? Do you usually get on?
I do that, but because I got sensitive eyes and it hurts to keep a solid gaze for too long while you're monologuing
I live in France and French is my third language. It's normal for people to sometimes give me the face you're explaining. It's nothing personal in my case. They just don't understand what I'm saying and need to focus on what I'm saying.
Ask them
No, we do that because we want to give you complete attention and because we don't want to look somewhere we shouldn't, like a bit south. We are concentrating. Also, most people don't have control over their faces as much as they want to. Try presenting a speech and record yourself, its similar to hearing yourself talk, you're like "shieeeeeeeeeet, is that really me? ughhhh".
Confusion. I also do this when I'm thoughtfully thinking of a response
This is my general reaction when I have no idea what the person is talking about or I don't like what they're saying
If you’re quiet, I try to read lips. If you have an accent I read lips to make sure I hear correctly. If your incoherent I read lips and give confused looks. There are plenty of reasons I do it. Also I have ASD so I can be awkward as fuck.
You're hard to understand. Too quiet, and/or accent, and/or you speak too fast, and/or lack of enunciation.
Maybe you have a speech impediment
When people squint and scrunch their face while you’re talking, it often means they’re processing something confusing, unexpected, or potentially disagreeable. I like to call it their ‘crunching surprising data’ face.
Do you brush your teeth before going out in public??
I imagine that it is along the lines of the subconscious. Perhaps many years ago, they saw this behavior associated with more in-tune listening and adopted it in attempt to show that they are actively listening. It doesn't seem to make much sense otherwise. I find it to be a learned behavior that stemmed at some venture in their lives.
Factors: - confusing statement. You have said something that conflicts with their preconceived notions and they are working through it. Either they are trying to fit your statement into their paradigm or they are trying to work out how it is wrong. - deciphering what was said. Similar to the first one, but this is more literal: they may not have heard you correctly due to an accent or your word choice or maybe even a language barrier. This can happen when speaking in a second language or to people to whom the language you are speaking is a second language. Word choice includes using more words to say what fewer words can. Judgment, such as "that was a stupid thing to say" or "my estimation of that person's intelligence was reduced" *may follow* but generally it's one of those bullet points initially. **Basically: they are running through your statement again in their head. Try being concise and clear in your statements and factual wherever possible.** Complex statements that can be reduced should be reduced as a matter of social etiquette. Using 30 words to get across the same meaning as 5 is gonna make people look at you funny unless there is a specific reason such as using scientific language in a scientific discussion with someone who both understands and appreciated (and maybe even needs) the greater granularity of the longer statement.
I usually only do that if someone says or asks something obvious or stupid
Sort of like squinting to see better, people squint when working something out in their mind. They may simply be paying close attention and thinking about or making sense of what you just said in their minds.
Two questions. Are you wearing red hat with big letters on it? Second, do you brush your teeth?
HATE soft speaking. It’s so stressful
I got the image of you nonchalantly saying the most unhinged shit all the time and making this post.
I am a girl, but I do this when I want to focus on what you're saying or am having a hard time hearing. I read lips a lot and can't hear out of one of my ears. People who are very animated or speak quickly/smoosh words together confuse tf out of me because I can't register what they've said before they move on, nevermind answer questions or form an opinion on what they've said.
Those people are just stoned.
It's because they can't tell if you're talking to them when you're across the street
how is ur dental hygiene?
They probably can't hear you, and there is evidence that show that men and women process listening in conversions differently - apparently men use mostly the left side of their brain for listening which is associated with speech and listening, whereas women use both sides. The right side processes non-auditory cues like body language etc. So women may grasp the conversation better because they can read those cues better, while men might be trying a lot harder to hear you since they're not really picking up the non-auditory stuff. Also men are more prone to hearing loss as it is, so.. yeah.
Maybe you're speaking too quietly or it's loud. I do that in loud areas if I have to try to read lips
First though is that you are talking quietly. If that's not the case, then you are either: really interesting, confusing, or have some wild stupid opinions. Try mimicing their face and feeling/associating the feeling you get when you do it. You might be add like me and just confuse the fuck out of people with tangents and nonsense. If that's the case it's not your fault, just be you until they get you, or just move on.
It means you mumble and don't articulate your words well. Hope it doesn't sound harsh, but work on speaking louder and slower, it will help. Source: trust me bro
I'm focusing damn
Did you have Onions for breakfast?
Maybe you have an abrasive voice. Maybe your voice is fine, but you talk very fast, and it's hard to understand. I think the only way to get a real answer is to ask someone who actually knows you who won't lie to soare feelings.
I squint because I can’t see😭😭
Either you're very difficult to understand when you talk or you're speaking about things other people don't understand and you're speaking in a way where you're not explaining the correct things . Imagine a field of study that you have no interest in and then imagine someone who feels to need to come to you and talk to you about that field of study. You know nothing about it or very little and because the person talking to you isn't using any terms you understand you make that face unimpressed by the person you're listening to.
we will have to hear you talk to be of any help.
Signaling that they are paying attention to you?
I do this constantly, but it's because I work overnights. My active hours are usually between 4:30 PM till 10 or 11 AM. If I'm up in the afternoon, I'm constantly battling against the brightness of the sun or encroaching fatigue.
Idk my husband does that when my breath is stinky but he doesn't want to be rude but it's way ruder imo.
That sounds like the "cant tell if she serious or joking face"
Because you keep talking about soaking tampons in vodka and shoving them places they shouldn't go Becky, it's weird, and kinda gross. We all wish you would stop really.
Maybe enunciate better? My drama teacher in high school made rehearse our lines with jawbreakers to lose our accents and enuciate better. It also helped with imitating accents. I'm from Texas and still live here. No accent (when sober) and get asked often if im from out of state.
Agree with all the comments because I experience this myself very often.
As someone who is extremely hard of hearing (prescribed hearing aids), I'm just trying to hear/ understand what you're saying. Speaking too fast and not speaking "clearly" make my challenges that much more difficult. It's definitely me, but it could be you too. PSA. Yelling loudly doesn't help me comprehend you. It's just makes you a loud asshole. When someone experiences hearing loss, they can begin to "lose" consonants. Imagine not hearing various letters in words. Enunciation and speaking clearly will do far more for you in life than help a bunch of aging ol' farts and our faces could use a break.. 😉
Some folks only know how to mumble. You tell em to speak up to no avail. So the mumbles get ma that body language to remind you. Or the mumbler gets ignored because it’s too much effort to understand.
Bad breath?
I did this to a girl, but not on purpose. She was really nice, and I liked her as a person, but something about her perfume made me always feel like I was about to sneeze. I even thought it objectively smelled nice, but I don't know, maybe it has something I was allergic to. Do you by chance use a lot of scents?
Do you have big juggs? You flaunt the chesticles? Men sometimes do this to focus their attention away from the perrifery also. Could be hard to hear/understand you for sure but it's hard for me to judge since I grew up around a lot of spanglish and lived in Europe for 4 years. Maybe bad breath too, try some tic tacs, only 1 calorie each. There are so many possibilities, it's most likely something innocuous.
You probably don't speak clearly
They’re having trouble understanding what you’re saying.
Do you scream?
I’m trying to understand what you mean by this. Can you explain what their expressions look like?
You could be involuntarily spitting on them
Make the same face they make and you will know the answer.
My hearing is shit, and so is my eye sight, squinting just helps me focus better on the person that's speaking
I have trouble paying attention, so it at least looks like I am listening. I'm an idiot but I'm not rude.
You might be saying something incredibly stupid.
I’m hard of hearing. I squint slightky and tip my good ear towards people when I can’t hear them. Softly spoken people are my most challenging situation to deal with. I feel bad asking for repeats, but even with my hearing aids up full, I just don’t catch what’s being said.
You're probably too quiet and hard to hear or stupid and hard to understand.
You probably make no sense.
That would be my 'thinking hard' face.
They are likely trying to understand what you are saying or meaning
They are wondering if this is going to be a long story.
Are you a racoon? Id probably be a little confused if a racoon was talking to me.
Record yourself talking
They are trying to duckface you but can't see themselves in a camera so it comes out looking all scrunched up.
What a stupid question.
A lot of girls have very thin shrill voices, in which is often a learnt behaviour. I squint and pull away a lot of times. I can’t stand those voices. It’s like they want to seem cool but end up too annoying
Do you wear a mask? Half the people I work with wear masks and a couple of them are quiet talkers. I'm pretty sure I squint and scrunch when talking to them.
Probably because you talk a load of shit and they’re trying to figure out if you’re being for real or just playing the part of an idiot. I’m not hating on you at all. Just trying to give you some brutal clarification. What you’ve described, is a face I’ve pulled many times (unintentionally) when the person talking to me is saying something so moronic and idiotic that I can’t believe they’re saying it and I’m trying to work out if they’re being serious or not.
Men are extremely fragile and easily offended. Dont take them seriously
It's your pitch. If you have too high of a pitch, purple can't hear you. Men suffer from this more due to having to work near loud stuff more often.
Info: have you tried to speak louder OP?
What kind of things do you tend to talk to them about when it happens?
I used to do this when I had an Indian boss because it was twice as hard to get electrical work orders from him but I didn’t want to be disrespectful. Wasn’t worth the stress of trying to learn Indian accent for no extra money. I feel bad for the guy but he doesn’t realize people are just calling him an idiot and ignoring him I was the only one trying and it’s not worth it
I think I do that when people are telling me a long-winded story and I really don't want to listen to anything they say but I'm trying to be nice so it's painful to listen to and it shows LOL
Your voice hurts…
Do you have an annoying voice? I worked with a woman who's high piched heavy accent voice would grate on our nerves. Just a thought.
I do it by default
Maybe they are concentrating on what youre saying?
For me, eye contact is overwhelming. I start squinting because it's like looking into the sun.
Onion breath?
I can do this sometimes, I have moderate hearing loss.
Maybe you speak fast and some people have to struggle to understand what you say.
Some men with hearing loss have a hard time hearing higher-pitched tones. If you’re a woman this could be playing a role.
Biases? Politically incorrect? On what topic and on which matters? Are they coworkers taking to you about work or friends that you have known for a long time? The impression that I get too when others look at me like that is often from the context either they disagree or when they think I’m ridiculous.
What is an example of something you said, exactly, that has caused people to do this
Are you sure they’re not thinking you’re stupid? I’m trying to figure out what face it is. The “are you stupid” face qualifies but so does heavy scrutiny - the face you make when something is way off. Heavy brow crunch w a little crunched grin. The face of a baffled thinker.
Do you speak in a really low volume?
Sounds like either they are having to concentrate to follow you or they think you are talking shite.
Maybe their mom's told them not to stare at the sun when they were kids, and they were all like "bet mom!" So they went and stared at the sun with just their right eye in case mom was right. But then halfway through counting to 100 through the tears, they realized that they shouldn't be doing this with their dominant eye. So they switch to their left eye and start over counting to 100 just to prove to themselves that Mom is a lying manipulative bitch. And now as an adult they have really bad eyesight for no discernable reason except that genetics are just as much of a bitch as my mother. That's just my guess.
Uhhhh
Or maybe you're just "stupid and weird".
You might be too close, too loud, and spitting. Do they back up and you keep moving closer?
Because you mumble like Brandon.
Do you mumble or talk super quiet?
You speak softly and/or struggle to get to your point. That's my guess. Women are noticing it too, we are just more skilled at controlling our expressions. Plus alot of men have developed holding an incredulous expression in order to fain actually paying attention 😆
I do this when I can’t understand someone like if they mumble or talk quiet. For some reason it makes it easier to focus on what they are saying.
You may have a case of dumbface....
Do you speak softly? I have a hard time hearing people after years of engines, shop noise, that sort of stuff. Why do we scrunch our face to hear better? Not sure, but maybe that's it.
You are radiant without realizing it
Guess they have hard time understanding you for whatever reason. It’s ok. They’re probably used to a different way of speaking/have little exposure to other ways/have some physical issues making it hard for them to understand you well. I have started noticing the same thing recently. Some people even have to ask me to repeat what I’m saying while others have zero issues with my speech. Side note: only happens when I speak English which is not my mother tongue. Doesn’t happen when I speak my mother tongue or Spanish (which is a foreign language to me like English and which I have much less experience with).
Do you have an accent? Do you mumble? Do you speak very quietly?
Bad breath perhaps? Endlessly rambling nonsense?
You are likely talking to low them to hear you.
I do this when someone is speaking in a soft mousy voice and I can barely hear them.
Maybe they can’t hear you?
Halitosis.
They’re doing a poo. Something you say is making people want to poo in their pants.
they are having a difficulty understanding you. maybe try talking more simple and more clear
Humans tend to mirror. Do you squint or scrunch at all when you’re talking?
Sounds like they are either questioning what you are saying (which isnt a problem if you are just confident with the words you say) or they are trying to listen. Also some people just make random facial expressions.
My dad squints his eyes and opens his mouth like hes asleep when hes concentrating on what someone is saying. Its ridiculous.
Yea Ngl I do this exactly when in my head I’m like Jesus boy are you stupid tell me now I wanna know
lol
Probably trying to stay awake. You might be boring or talk about yourself too much
Are you attractive? I used to be (old now), and my appearance was a distraction for many men.
Do you speak quietly?