When someone finally gets one true word out about how they feel, resist explaining it to them. Ask what that word is like from the inside and let them find the rest.

What the research says

A large review of the evidence on facial expression concluded that although people do sometimes smile when happy or scowl when angry, the correspondence is far too loose to read an emotion off a face with any confidence. Its subject was expression rather than conversation, so the transfer is not exact. The caution still carries: your read of what another person is feeling is a guess, and a noisy one, which is a good reason to ask instead of announce.

Strength of evidence: one line of research. A single study, or a theoretical account.