Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Mastering non-verbal expressions
• Part 2 of 3: Having conversations without emotion
• Part 3 of 3: Dealing with your emotions
• Tips

It can be very helpful to appear completely unemotional. Controlling your emotions can help you gain the upper hand in negotiations, avoid confrontation, and appear calm. While it may seem like it's easy to hide your feelings, it takes a lot of practice to come across as completely emotionless. You need to get and keep full control of your expression, your movements and your words, all at the same time.

To step

Part 1 of 3: Mastering non-verbal expressions

1. Relax your eyes and mouth. The eyes and mouth can express a variety of emotions. It is important to control it at all times. The best way to do this is to work on expressionlessness. A blank face is the look people use to keep others at a distance. You can see this face around you in almost every crowded elevator. It looks like a "do not disturb" sign in front of your face.
   • Take a moment to consciously relax the muscles in your face. You will be amazed at how tense they can be, even if you are not experiencing any emotions.
   • Poker players turn the expressionless poker face into an art form. Observe how poker players play without any indication of nervousness or excitement.
   • Do not shy away from eye contact. Avoiding eye contact can be viewed as an emotional response. Just look at the person the same way you would look at a chair or a wall.
2. Watch your movements. Subtle gestures can be very expressive, even though we are sometimes unaware of them. This is usually the hardest part of coming across as unemotional, and no matter how hard you try, it will always be a small gesture that reveals how you feel.
   • Try not to fidget, such as cracking your knuckles or biting your nails.
   • Do not show that you are tired, such as by rubbing your eyes or yawning.
   • Tapping your feet can make you nervous.
   • Looking too much at the floor can make you appear shy or sad.
   • While most people can put on a poker face, even poker players' hands give away what they think and are the main signals that are picked up by watchful eyes. Hesitant hand and arm movements can indicate fear, insecurity, nervousness, or excitement. Only try to make smooth and conscious movements. Don't move unless you want to. Then you move with determination and confidence.
3. Maintain an unemotional attitude. Do not show any emotion with your standing or sitting position.
   • Don't cross your arms. This can be considered defensive. Keep your arms relaxed and at your sides.
   • Sit back in your chair. A relaxed and carefree attitude is the best way to show that you are not emotionally involved in something. It also helps to create more distance between you and the people around you. Leaning forward can make you look enthusiastic or excited.

Part 2 of 3: Having conversations without emotion

1. Speak from your logic. Channel your inner Spock and try to have conversations that express absolutely nothing about how you feel. For example, if you're out for dinner and someone asks how your burger is, tell them the meat is half-baked and a little greasy. Don't say it's delicious or gross, even if it isn't. Just give the facts.
   • If you are asked a question about how you feel or something that cannot be answered with facts, it is best to avoid the question by asking a question back. You can also give a vague or two-fold answer.
2. Speak somewhat monotonously. Pay attention to the tempo and pitch of your words. Raising your voice can be an indication of excitement or agitation. Speaking lower and slower can make you appear insecure or angry. Try to speak as if you were reading a manual aloud. Speaking boring, informing and without originality is the way to have distant conversations.
3. Don't use emotional words. Many words are emotional. Some are obvious, while others express more subtle emotions. Obviously, you don't want to say you're sad or happy, but you also can't say you're determined or calm or have doubts. These words express emotional state just as well.
   • Avoid using adjectives to describe words that convey your feelings. Don't say a movie exciting or romantic used to be. Instead, you describe the movie as full of action or dramatic.

Part 3 of 3: Dealing with your emotions

1. Don't spend too much time with emotional people. People who are very emotional can pull you into the drama of their life and make it difficult to be completely emotionless. There is no need to cut ties with someone completely, but you may be able to limit contact with your more emotional friends.
   • If you run into an emotional friend of yours somewhere, always have an excuse ready to politely end the conversation. Just indicate that you still need to do some shopping or something.
2. Learn to accept things. An important part of being unemotional is not being fooled by anything. Once you realize that you don't have the ability to direct most of things anyway, those things may stop bothering you. If you can let go of wanting to be in control of things that happen, it will become much easier for you to accept things that are not going according to plan.
3. Make yourself less sensitive. Violent television shows or movies is the way most people desensitize themselves. While many people believe that watching violent movies is harmful to the viewer, there is evidence that it can also make the viewer apathetic with regard to people's pain and suffering. If you hope to avoid being affected by these kinds of emotions, watch more television.
4. Look at money often. It may sound strange, but by looking at money, people tend to be more business-like. Scientists have found evidence that by looking at money, we will disapprove of outward displays of emotions, or using emotional words to express our thoughts.
5. Look for an outlet for your emotions. No matter how well you can bottle everything up, sometimes you have to let emotions run wild. Writing or making music are both good ways to relieve emotional pressure, while other people prefer to overreact by playing kickboxing. It doesn't matter which activity you choose, as long as you can let go of any unrest you may feel in your own way, instead of being at the mercy of a sudden outburst in front of everyone.

Tips

• Don't get angry if someone calls you cold or indifferent. It just means that what you are doing is working.
• Don't try to change yourself completely. You can still have the same interests, such as sports or anything else you enjoy. Just hide your emotions about it.
• Do not resort to self-harm as an emotional outlet. That makes you more emotional again because people can see the consequences.
• When you talk, keep it short and to the point.
• If people ask you if something is wrong, you can respond briefly with "no" or indicate that you are just tired, and if they keep asking if they don't believe you, change the topic.