Can you train your face to be more expressive?

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My facial expressions have held me back socially. Sometimes, when I'm talking with somebody new, the combination of my half closed eyes, my robotic expressions and subdued voice turn people off.

I have a nice smile, but I find it hard to change my facial expressions subtly when in a conversation.

Any tips?

If you are serious about trying to improve your facial vocabulary you could try watching a film and trying to copy the expressions in a mirror.

If you find it hard, remember the person in the film is having to act as well.

I could emulate almost all facial expressions. I am good actor.

But I still prefer to be myself when I am with people I trust.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXa9tXcMhXQ[/youtube]

alcohol works best for me. One drink is all it takes.

Alcohol is killing brain cells.

I want more cells in brain, not less.

Acting classes/drama will help as thats what they work on, you can always ask ahead of time. Also Sign Language Classes. They work on Facial Expressions as thats very important in the deaf community. You can take these at an adult school or community college.

Letum's suggestion to watch expressions in a film worked for some ASD college acquaintances and me. For them, it was anime or comedy movies. They watched lighthearted shows to escape from depressing or dangerous family situations, and learned 'good' emotions that way, since there was little happiness expressed for them to imprint on.

For me, it was realizing that other people watching movies would smile at certain parts, or furrow their brows, or open their mouth at certain times. I was puzzled at first, thinking "Why is this one person miming the actor?" Then I noticed that most people watching movies do the same thing -- "Why are they all doing it? It looks silly!"

Much later, my friend who watches anime for his 'happiness fix' explained that he is living vicariously through the characters in the shows he watches -- he says you can't get the full impact of the show without feeling what the characters feel. I can understand that to some degree, like I can understand that I'm missing the words when the sound is off. I still don't 'get' many subtleties that people are trying to convey, even after reading loads of books and writing college research papers on non-verbal cues.

I hope what I said makes sense. Best of luck with learning about expressions!

I have trouble making facial expressions, sometimes I even make the wrong facial expression. (I smiled when someone died, I usually just smile when I don't know what to do.)
Maybe you can just smile when you see people. Just smile! It's probably the easiest facial expression!
(Showing teeth can be weird though)