Round-faced men are better negotiators, according to study

BEING tall and having blond hair will net you more money over time. But there’s a surprising facial feature that makes people better negotiators.

Bert Newton

WE’VE known for a while that attractiveness can equal greater wealth over time.

But not just because actors and models are often paid ridiculous amounts of money compared to someone holding down a normal job.

Research paper upon research paper has found humans carry inherent biases when it comes to beauty, even in areas where it shouldn’t matter — like whether you’ll be able to competently read through that legal brief or if you can nail those two pieces of wood together.

Some of these biases may not surprise you too much. According to The Atlantic, tall people make more money — they make an extra 2 per cent annually for every 2.54cm above 170cm. And blondness in women is thought to be worth as much as a year of school. The most attractive third of your peers is worth about $246,823 more their lifetimes.

But a new report has found an interesting facial characteristic that the best negotiators have. Round faces.

A joint study from the University of California, Riverside, London Business School and Columbia University found the moonfaced among us made better negotiators because they are less co-operative and therefore claim more value in a negotiation.

In one scenario, a round-faced man was able to negotiate a better signing bonus to the tune of almost $2400 than a narrow-faced man.

But this only applies to men and only in situations where they’re negotiating against other men. Women are immune to the charms of round-faced men.

One of the study’s authors, Michael Haselhuhn, as reported in Bloomberg, suggested that there may be a biological reason why big faces come out better.

“Men with wider faces tend to have higher circulating rates of testosterone,” he said.

“Higher levels of testosterone have been linked to feeling powerful. A sense of self-worth can drive men to be more aggressive in business settings.”

The latest paper builds on research previously conducted by the same academics, who previously found that men with wider faces are more likely to cheat and lie, and that men with wider faces tend to lead more financially successful companies.

So if you’re a narrow-faced guy heading into a negotiation with a bunch of other dudes, maybe try stuffing some cotton wool into your cheeks. It worked for Marlon Brando.