The Impact of Facial Expressions on Public Speaking Performance and Audience Perception

Nonverbal communication is a foundational dimension of effective public speaking, yet the specific contribution of facial expressiveness to audience perception remains underexplored. This study investigated how speaker facial expressiveness and speech content quality independently and jointly shape audience evaluations of credibility, warmth, engagement, and overall competence. Using a controlled experimental design, 120 undergraduate participants (62% female, 38% male) viewed one of four video-recorded speeches manipulating expressiveness and content quality. Audiences consistently rated highly expressive speakers more favorably across all perception dimensions, regardless of content quality. The most favorable ratings were given to speakers who combined high expressiveness with strong content, while low-expressiveness speakers received poor ratings even when delivering well-organized speeches. These findings confirm that facial expressiveness is a powerful and trainable determinant of audience perception, with important implications for communication pedagogy in higher education and EFL contexts.