Interviews are won and lost in the small movements no one mentions. A lip-press here, a flick of the eyes there, and the room shifts before a single sentence is finished. Over the years I've learnt that three expressions, more than any others, can sink a conversation — and most people make them without ever realising. If you're appearing for an interview or taking one, these are the three to watch for, on the other person's face and on your own.
1. The not-face
This is a pursed-lip gesture — the lips press together and tighten, sometimes with a small downturn. When you're explaining a point and the interviewer offers you this, it usually means one thing: they aren't agreeing with what you're saying, or they'd quietly like you to stop. Researchers have noted that this compressed-lip configuration tends to show up alongside negative judgement and disagreement. It is not a warm sign.
It cuts both ways. Ask a candidate a question and watch a quick lip-press appear before they answer, and there's a fair chance they don't actually have the answer — they're buying a second to build one. Read it as a prompt: slow down, rephrase, or gently dig deeper rather than ploughing on.
2. The whatever face
I call this one the whatever look. The corners of the mouth pull down, and the eyes roll upward and off to one side — and here the direction doesn't carry any hidden meaning, so don't over-read left versus right. What matters is the combination: lips pulled down, eyes up and away. When it arrives with a shoulder shrug, you're looking at disconnect. The person has mentally stepped back from the conversation.
Say you mention something you've worked on and you get this expression in response — that's someone signalling they don't want to take the thread any further, that the connection has dropped. It isn't a positive moment, and it isn't one to ignore. Either ask a fresh question or change the topic entirely, because staying on the current one will only widen the gap.
3. The contempt expression
The third is contempt — and it is a genuine emotion, one many researchers consider universal across cultures. It shows as a one-sided tightening of the mouth, a slight unilateral lift, the look that surfaces when someone feels superior. You've almost certainly been on the receiving end of it at some point.
Contempt tends to mean one of three things: the person doesn't believe you, the person feels superior to you, or the person sees you as somehow lesser. None of those are good news in an interview. If you're the candidate and the interviewer flashes contempt, they may suspect you're exaggerating, or they think they know far more than you, or they've quietly written you off. If you're the interviewer and the candidate offers it to you, they likely believe they're already selected, or that they outclass the room.
What to do with all this
None of these expressions are verdicts. Body language reveals patterns, not certainties — a single lip-press could be concentration, a glance away could be a stray thought. But when one of these three shows up clearly, treat it as a cue to adjust rather than push: ask another question, shift the topic, or check whether you've genuinely connected.
And watch yourself too. The expression you let slip says as much about you as the one you read on the other person. For me, in any discussion or interview, if I catch one of these three, it usually tells me the answer is heading towards a no. Better to see it early than to find out later.