14 DAY TRIAL // If it's true that the eyes are windows into the soul, then the face is a map to a person's mindset. At this point in time, facial coding is no more of a science than palm reading, but it has the potential of developing into a new area of expertise that could end up being used on a scale just as large as the polygraph. Facial coding, or the practice of interpreting the minute details, shifts and movements of the hundreds of muscles on a person's face, is essentially designed as a system of reading emotions and correlating them with the subject's actions, or words. Suppressed emotions might be an indication of frustration, of an attempt to lie, while at the opposite pole, positive expressions come to enforce a certain statement as being honest and true.
Facial coding expert Dan Hill analyzed a dozen of business leaders and Chief Executive Officers from major American companies for USA Today, in an effort to translate facial expressions during interviews into personality traits. Among the top executives examined there is also Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates. The co-founder of Microsoft managed to score no less than positive 73% and negative 27% in terms of facial expressions. This means that: "He was at ease, affable and low key, but displayed small, weak social smiles, and touches of contempt," Hill stated.
In terms of positive expressions, Gates bested Apple Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs, whose facial coding ended up revealing a positive score of just 48%, with a negative of 52%. But according to Hill, Steve Jobs failed to hide his emotions in the least. "Lots of emoting, enjoyment mingled with frustration," Hill stated. Berkshire Hathaway CEO Buffett and a close friend of Bill Gates has the largest positive score, no less than 69% after Microsoft's Chairman being "affable, assured and low-key" but also slightly ironic, which scored him a negative 31%.