Simply sharing physical space with someone—mere co-presence—can be enough to synchronize heartbeats. We automatically mirror the facial expression of the person we’re talking to and experience the emotion that goes with those expressions, and we involuntarily match body movements and vocal pitch.7 We are all walking around co-regulating one another all the time, synchronizing without trying, without even necessarily being aware that it’s happening.8 Your internal state is profoundly contagious, and it is profoundly susceptible to “catching” the internal states of the people around you at work
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