A smile? A smirk? Worse yet, a frown?

It the recent past I had to pay a visit to the bank to sign some documents and the appointment was set for 3:30PM for me to meet with my mortgage specialist. He had booked a lawyer to officiate the documents and requested for the lawyer to be present at 3:45 to give us some time to review the documents prior to the signing. 

In a typical occurrence of events, I was running 10 minutes late, estimated to arrive at 3:40PM. As estimated, I arrived at 3:40PM, to a smiling mortgage specialist and a frowning lawyer. As soon as I sat down, the lawyer approached the table, red-faced, huffing and puffing, checking his phone and asking if we were ready to go ahead with the officiating. This was with extra time to spare given he was requested to be present at 3:45. I was slightly confused because I was technically early for his appointment and late for my mortgage specialist and the latter was still wearing a smile on his face. 

I attempted to make small talk and invited the lawyer to sit with us at the table instead of standing / hovering over the table. He refused and dismissed my act of kindness; a small detail but nonetheless I was a bit taken aback. We proceed with the officiating of the documents and he pushed the papers towards me and asked for my signature without so much as an explanation of what I was signing. This was because he was 'in a hurry' to get to the other side of town. 

There are several things wrong with this scenario. 

1. He was wearing a frown
2. He was in a hurry
3. He was placing the blame for the fact that he was in a hurry on me and the mortgage specialist
4. Neither myself nor the mortgage specialist were in a hurry because we had scheduled ample time to review the documents

Now because of the lawyer's behaviour and the expression he was wearing on his face, we both felt rushed and had to adhere with his rushed schedule. Needless to say it wasn't a pleasant experience for all three of us. Advanced and improved scheduling on the lawyer's part would have avoided the awkward situation. 

So the next time you go about your day, be aware of the expression you are wearing on your face, because it affects every person you come into contact with, triggering a butterfly effect that has far-reaching impact.