The Eyes Are the Mirrors of the Soul
I know a wonderful professional person who has a lovely personality and is quite talented and professionally successful. For the life of me, I can't figure out what "they" are looking at for about the first 5-7 minutes of our visits or work together! The floor, the wall, the ceiling, anything but my face! Of the many kinds and forms of nonverbal communication, eye contact may speak the loudest. Maintaining relaxed eye contact while speaking with someone will help you present an air of confidence and credibility to your audience. Furtive glancing away during conversation may send mixed signals, such as dishonesty or insecurity. How to practice good eye contact? Generally, you should look comfortably back and forth at each eye about 60% to 90% of the time. One exception is during an introduction and shaking hands: Eye contact should be made 100% throughout the initial communication until the handshake is broken or positions change. Glancing away and up to indicate thoughtfulness during conversation is a good gaze-breaker. Relaxing and focusing on the other's words will make eye contact natural. We have a powerful tool in this form of body language if we use it to convey our sincerity and genuine interest. Here's looking at you!
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