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FYV #49 - RBF, Thinking Face, and the Juror’s Subconscious

Foster Your Voice Podcast with Kristi Foster

Release Date: 12/15/2025

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More Episodes

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.

 

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: kristi@fostervoicestudio.com

 

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  3. LI: https://www.linkedin/in/fosterthought

  4. Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/fostervoicestudio/

 

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.