LEXINGTON, Ky. — With everyone wearing face masks, many are having a hard time reading facial expressions. The University of Kentucky's communications department is now working to normalize clear face masks to show the importance of facial expressions within their courses. 

One faculty member at the University of Kentucky, Allyson DeVito, said wearing a mask has been difficult especially when teaching a course on public speaking. 

“For the most part, because I've never really taught in a mask before wearing a mask for that long, I could project my voice and even students in the back of the classroom. Sometimes I'd have to ask them to repeat themselves because I couldn't hear them. So we got around that you still weren't able to see if someone was smiling, or those facial expressions or nonverbal cues,” DeVito said.

Devito teaches a lot about facial expressions and delivery. And to her, showing emotions is one of the most important skills to have.

“Delivery is a huge component. We talked about how you can have a really relevant talk and you can include humor in it. It can really connect with your audience but if you just stand up there and read from your note cards or never smile or never have any emotional expression, you're going to completely lose your audience,” DeVito said.

A few months into the semester, the department was able to find clear face masks for students to wear, allowing them to show their facial expressions.

Now students have the option to present their speeches in class with the clear face mask or over zoom, both which allow students to show their face.

“After they delivered the talk, they had to fill out a reflection and the ones that use the masks were very glad that they chose the classroom,” DeVito said.

DeVito says the clear masks took some adjusting too but hopes her students will start to see the importance of facial expressions with the clear mask — encouraging others outside of the classroom to wear them too.

“People that work in retail and restaurants and other places where you're having to communicate and ask people questions that would be beneficial because I know I've been in stores and someone will say something to me and I'll say, 'What did you say again?' you know because it's hard to hear. I think it would just be a way to more effectively communicate for everyone, not just people in college taking courses,” DeVito said.

DeVito plans to make the clear masks a required supply in her next semester of teaching to help improve communication with one another.