Also to add, I don't mean the deep end as in toss em in and walk away but in the more exposure the better. Explaining the meaning in a lot of interaction can help. I learned most of my understanding of facial expressions from reading and movies. Most of my knowing expressions is based on kind of pattern recognition, this kind of smile means this, plus eyes looking this way means this, so on. Also explanations of why something is good or bad in the interaction they just had helps. It took me a while to stop trying to understand things and just accept something is the way it is and wont make sense.
I just don't see talking about it before hand working very well. I learned the most when something went very badly and I had to look back at it and file away the memory for future reference of something not to do again.