One thing that I remember is a tough consulting project where I travelled every week to a customer site (note: long long ago). However, I did pick up some ligh

One thing that I remember is a tough consulting project where I travelled every week to a customer site (note: long long ago). However, I did pick up some light morning yoga since my schedule was so packed I couldn't go to a class but I needed some additional stress relief. I noticed that after I started doing that (part of the yoga video involved actively relaxing your face), I tended to adopt that relaxed face a lot more. It was serene, welcoming - compared to my very intense normal visage given the stress levels. Suddenly people not only reacted to me in a much more honest and direct way which made things easier. I then decided to ramp it up and use that face explicitly on calls and meetings - where I was received very very well (even conference calls without video). I gained visibility with the client higher-ups. In fact, I could probably still be working for them if I wanted to (ended contract as my first kid was on the way - too much travel). It's not a lot of time investment and a great learning lesson.