Seeing a smile is more pleasurable than having sex or eating chocolates, claims a survey conducted by Hewlett Packard, because a smile generates more stimuli than all other things including receiving money. Two thousand bars of chocolate or receiving a $ 16,000 can only give you the same amount of pleasure a smile can emanate, avers the test.

Why is smile so exhilarating? It has been proven beyond doubt that human brain is a hub that acts and reacts on several impulses it receives. Like they say a toddler’s learning process starts at his fingertips. The more the child uses its fingers, the more it is said to be under the influence of its brainpower. Because the ultimate use of the fingertip is nothing but the culmination of a neural process, wherein the eyes see something, transmit it to the brain and the brain orders the finger and the finger tips to act. The more the finger action , the more the brain usage and that is why, most child -teaching exercises involve picking up things from the ground, throwing a ball, crushing a ball of paper and so on. Similarly during the process of a smile, the broadening of the chin muscles and the feeling of a halo are the culmination of a happy body language that means that all is well that smiles well. A genuine smile increases the production of serotonin, the happiness hormone.

The research by Hewlett Packard and the subsequent analysis are path breaking. The analysis also states that the person involved in smiling is an important factor in the generation of happiness. A child’s smiley face or that of celebrity generated the highest quantum of satisfaction and happiness, while the smile of a politician or royalty carried the least response. But then how can you make out a genuine smile from a fictitious political one? Easy says, Dr. Lewis, a noted psychologist. The minute difference in the facial expression will reveal a good one from a pretense.

Jeffrey Bray, of Bournemouth University says the impact of smiles was an important lesson for companies amid the current trend towards call centers and internet shopping. He laments for all its worth a smile is still playing only second fiddle to catchy designing when it comes to packaging. He said: "The high street still has the pleasure part of the shopping experience and smiling from shop assistants is a big part of that. "Consumers are also smart at spotting insincerity in smiles. Shop staff who are happy and genuinely engaged by their work will convey that sense of pleasure to shoppers."

Consumers trust a genuine, warm smile. During the conversation, smiling can give a more trusted attitude to the buyer. He/she is much more at ease with a seller who smiles. A smile makes the buyer feel he/she is really important to the seller. People who smile look more pleasant, sincere, sociable and popular.

As a parting shot, Hewlett Packard’s Vic Foti claims that if one can manage a few smiles a day, one can feel like having got a gift of a million dollars. Well! The day is not far off when a smile a day will keep the doctor away.

But then, if smiles are so important, we can use them in our online business correspondence. Another research shows that smileys (a stylized representation of a smiling human face) make business emails more friendly, warm and more personal. Message that contains smileys generates more sales! Smileys and smiles actually help build a connection between people, whether they be friends, family members, or sellers and buyers.