In this episode, we zoom out from pure vocal technique and dig into one of the most overlooked communication tools in the courtroom: your face. With 43 expressive muscles firing even when you’re not speaking, your facial expressions reveal more than you think — especially to jurors who instinctively read micro-cues for safety, sincerity, and credibility.

You’ll learn why your “resting face,” thinking patterns, stress habits, and unintended microexpressions can either support your message or sabotage it — and how to intentionally build a neutral, open, trustworthy facial baseline that aligns with your storytelling and presence.

LISTEN HERE...

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. Why jurors trust your face over your words — every single time

2. How genetics, aging, and habitual expressions shape your resting facial posture

3. What RBF really is (and why it matters in voir dire and trial)

4. How stress, tension, and “thinking face” create misleading microexpressions

5. Why your neutral expression is part of your credibility package

6. Simple daily exercises to train a more open, receptive, and aligned resting expression

7. How an “inner smile” softens your presence without faking anything

8. Ways your face, voice, and message can work together instead of contradicting one another

Key Takeaway

Your face communicates before your voice ever does — and jurors believe the face. When your facial expression aligns with your intention and your story, jurors stay open, receptive, and connected. When it doesn’t, they disengage before you’ve even begun. Awareness + a little intentional practice = enormous return on credibility.

Favorite Moment

That moment where you describe walking through the grocery store practicing your neutral face and inner smile — a perfect reminder that high-stakes communication is built in low-stakes environments.

Links & Resources

1. Revisit Episode #4 How One Word Can Change Your Year: https://www.fostervoicestudio.com/blog/podcast4

2. Connect with Kristi on Instagram: @fostervoicestudio

3. Email questions or coaching inquiries: [email protected]

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If you’re ready to develop vocal presence, refine your nonverbal clarity, and learn how jurors actually perceive you, join the newsletter or reach out for 1:1 coaching. Your voice and your face are telling a story — make sure it’s the one you want jurors to hear.

TRANSCRIPT:

Hellllooooo!!! Hello Foster Fam! I hope you're enjoying this time of year, however your family celebrates the season. There's something about the month of December that gives us permission to slow down a bit and take a different pace. Now, I know as attorneys, your work doesn't ever really stop, and I know you drift towards being a workaholic. I don't even really like to use that word because I think there's some judgement that is infused in. I just mean that, notoriously, you work a lot, so it's hard to step away. BUT...my hope is that you will keep your physical and mental health and your wellbeing as a priority and however you can, step away from the working space for a bit so that you can refuel personally.

In fact, I didn't mean to segue myself, but this is a great segue into my reminder that this is the time to be thinking what you want your "word of the year" to be for 2026. If you've not ever done a "word of the year" I encourage you to give it a try. I personally have found the practice to be REALLY valuable. I think particularly because my mind gets going too fast and in multiple directions, and my perfectionism kicks in and I am tempting to think that I need to be all things for all people all at once and my anxiety elevates...having a single word that serves as my umbrella covering and sets my intentions has been really grounding.

In 2024, my word was reclaim—I actually set the word in December of 2023 without really knowing why, and then shortly into the new year, I had a major shift in my work that allowed me to reclaim my time, energy, focus, emotional output, etc. RECLAIM became the lens that I saw things through.

In 2025, my word was consistency—it was my year to establish routines that fueled me, create habits that added value to my physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health and wellbeing, and figure out systems to be able to track, assess, and evaluate my consistent behavior.

For 2026, I'm playing around with a couple of words; there are a few that are swirling around in my psyche, that surface occasionally, and my inner voice says "how about this one?" So, I'm listening, praying, staying mindful.

Now, to choose a word of the year, it really can be just as easy as declaring whatever came to top of mind as the theme you want to adopt. If you want to treat it like an exercise and go a little deeper, here are some ways to lean in a little harder into this practice.

Start by reflecting on your goals, values, and feelings.Write down what went well and what you would like to change. Think about what matters most to you and what you want to contribute. Ask yourself what kind of energy, feeling, or traits you want to bring into your life. Then brainstorm a list of that capture those things.

Next, start narrowing down your list by considering which word is most motivating, resonates with you, and is broad enough to apply to different areas of your life. You may want to research the definitions of words on your list to understand their nuances. Spend some time imagining how living with each word would feel and how it would influence your decisions. You'll want to choose a word that is motivating and uplifting, not a rigid goal that can be failed. 

Finally, trust your instincts. Choose the word that feels most right and empowering for you personally. Then, commit to it. Say it outloud, kind of like a declaration. Write it down and put it where you can see it daily. You will want this to be a guide and reminder throughout the year. Your word of the year will serve as a sort of litmus test when making choices, or during challenging moments to help you stay focused and intentional. So keep it in view.

We've got a few weeks left to be thinking on this. I'll let you know which word I have selected in the first episode of Season 2 which will come out on January 5th. So, let's plan to have our word all sorted out and declared by then. I can't wait to hear what you come up with.

—BREAK—

On this podcast, I spend a lot of time on vocal development. It's probably the LEAST talked about aspect of strategic legal communication. Every time I speak at a conference, I'm swarmed by folks afterward who confirm what i already knew—"Why have I never heard about this before?" "Gosh, I wish I had learned this in law school." "No, this makes SO much sense. I wish I'd learned it 15 years ago, but I'm excited to learn about it now."

So, I'm gonna keep preaching the value of dedicated vocal development work—expanding your range through the 5 Vocal Building Blocks of pitch, pace, melody, volume, and tone. All of that is important — but vocal technique is only one slice of your presence puzzle. Today, I want to zoom out.

But, in truth, voice may be the most underutilized tool in your communication tool box, but it's just one of the tools. When it comes to your communication package, there's voice, face, body, and breath.

Today, i want to talk about your face. haha! I mean...you've got a nice face, and it's worth paying a little bit more attention to. Because when your voice says one thing but your face tells a different story, guess what jurors believe? The face.

There are 43 muscles in the face used for functional movements like chewing but also used for expression. 43. That feels like a lot. And left to themselves, without intention or strategy, those muscles might create expressions that don't represent the truth of what you're actually feeling. And, of course, that leads to miscommunication and misperceptions. Humans are biologically wired to detect micro-shifts in facial muscles — it’s how we’ve survived socially for millennia.

Have you heard of RBF? "Resting Bitch Face"? Since 2013, when a Funny or Die sketch video went viral, we've had this term to address unintentional facial expressions that make someone look angry, or judgy, even when the person is just zoning out, thinking of nothing at all.

RBF is caused by a combo of genetics, facial structure, aging (great! love that) and then from muscle memory from habits & habitual expressions. Your natural inherited bone structure (like if you have a lower brow or deep set eyes), and, unfortunately, your age play into your potential RBF, just cause your skin looses elasticity as you age so features that might already be prone to being downturned because accentuated.

None of this is destiny — it just means some of us need to be a little more conscious of what our face does on autopilot. Something you CAN be mindful of are your habitual expressions. I've talked before about your "thinking face" and how it's not uncommon to think with your face—a furrowed brow, narrowed eyes—but also keep in mind how your face is involved in managing (or mis-managing) your stress and anxiety. Repeated use of certain facial muscles, like consistently frowning because of stress, or even if you're not frowning but you are simply just not doing much smiling, these habits can become ingrained and influence your resting posture over time.

Okay, so I've got RBF, Kristi. Now what? And more importantly — what does it mean for jurors, witnesses, clients, and the judge who is watching me?

So, I'm bringing this up because, especially in your legal relationships and encounters, your face is always communicating, even when you’re not speaking. The microexpressions that you've developed as a habit—even if they're brief, involuntary facial cues—can reveal your tension, frustration, or boredom. EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT tense, frustrated, or bored. Jurors pick up on these signals, even subconsciously, which can affect how they perceive your credibility and how much permission they give you to lead them to a verdict for your client.

THIS is an area that you CAN, and SHOULD learn to control and shape. Your face isn't stuck. But, you have to bring your awareness to it and intentionally work at it. I do this all the time too, cause my thinking face can get the better of me. So, on my morning walks, walking the aisles of the grocery store, and sitting in traffic—this is when I practice.

First, I just notice what my face is doing. (Side note—if you're just listening, I recommend that you go back and watch the video of this section either on my website or on my YouTube channel so you can see what I'm doing). If there's a mirror and it's safe to look (like when I'm in the car), I'll just look and see where my natural features take my expression when I'm zoned out and neutral in my emotions. Then, try isolating movements. Try lifting just your cheekbones and notice. What else is connected that moves? How does it feel inside? Then go back to neutral and try creating an inner smile. Likely you'll end up getting just a slight grin. Hardly perceptible, but it's there. And just to be clear, an inner smile isn’t about performing happiness — it’s about signaling openness. It softens your features without forcing an artificial grin. This expression is what I train to be my new neutral—slight lift in the cheeks and an inner smile.

Take time to practice a neutral but approachable resting face, with relaxed eyebrows and a slight upward turn at the corners of your mouth. Catch yourself with a frown, pursed lips, or a furrowed brow, and see if you can change it up. Learning to maintain an open, calm expression helps make it so that your face supports your words rather than undermining them. And the more you practice in low-stakes environments, the more automatic and trustworthy your facial communication becomes in high-stakes moments. When your face matches the intention behind your words, jurors relax, trust you more easily, and stay aligned with your message.

Until next time...keep fostering your voice.