Importance of Eye Contact in Communication

Researchers studying human psychology are of the view that non verbal communication plays an important role in effective communication. Eyes are known as the "windows of the soul" and express our emotions when words fail us. We all are well aware about the importance of eye contact in communication. It enables us to develop a connection with the person we are speaking to and not making an eye contact can send out signals to others that we are disinterested. Maintaining an eye contact doesn't mean staring constantly in other person's eyes, doing this, in fact can send an offensive non verbal message.

Public speaking still ranks highly on the list of most dreaded things in America, but there are times when we have to come out of our comfort zone and deliver a speech, especially in our professional life. If you are an able orator and impress people with your oratory skills, then your bosses are more likely to sit up and take notice. There are a lot of things that make a good speech, but as this article is on the importance of eye contact, we will focus our attention on the necessity of engaging your audience through effective eye contact.

Importance of Eye Contact during Speech

While delivering a speech, it is important that you make eye contact with several people or groups of people. Fixing your gaze on one particular individual or group may make other members of the audience feel that they do not hold any importance to you and this can cause them to be disinterested. It is important that you know the appropriate duration till which you are supposed to make eye contact with the members of the audience. There is a difference between making eye contact with your friends and loved ones, and members of the audience and it is important that you remember that. When you are speaking to one particular individual, all your attention is focused on that one person, but in case of an audience, you have to make sure that you make eye contact with as many people as you can. Successful orators agree that the way they use their body language to put their point across plays an important role in delivering an effective, well-received speech. (Also see, eye body language).

Importance of Eye Contact in Interviews

Interviewers often make statements like, "we selected him because he appeared more confident" or "he came across as an assured young man, with a lot of potential". How does an individual make himself appear more positive than others? The answer to this lies in how we communicate both verbally and non-verbally in an interview. If we fail to make eye contact in an interview, we run the risk of being labeled an introvert or the interviewer may get a feeling that there is something not right about us. Making eye contact portrays one in the right way and ensures creating a positive impression on the interviewer.

While we have mentioned the importance of eye contact in communication, it is also very important to know that in various cultures, making an eye contact is considered offensive. For example, in China people tend to avoid making eye contact as they consider it as a mark of respect. In Middle Asian countries, eye contact between a man and a woman is minimal (unless you are closely related to each other). It is very important therefore that you do a bit of research on how to conduct yourself in public, if you are planning to make a trip abroad.

All of us know the importance of eye contact in communication, but still sometimes it gets neglected, may be because we are not comfortable with the situation or we take the other person for granted. Our eyes have the power to communicate what we are feeling or how we perceive a situation. It is imperative for us to put in the required effort so that we master the art of making appropriate eye contact to ensure that we are good with our social and interpersonal skills.

Body Language and Non-Verbal Communication

Among all the non-verbal communication signals, eye body language is probably the most mesmerizing. They say the eyes are "the windows to the soul." I agree, since your appealing eyes much reveal your inner thoughts and feelings. Even more astonishing is the fact that you can use eye body language to build trust and make people similar to you. Following are some points:

Making eye contact is the key.
Around 70% of the time you must make eye contact if you want to convey your sincerity and respect. Avoiding eye contact instinctively gives the notion of dishonesty, shyness, anxiety, or humiliation.

If you incessantly avoid making eye contact, you might be professed as someone who is insecure, unreliable or even deceitful. Although that may not be the case, but who fails to make proper eye contact that’s the normal impression, people go with.
If you are too modest or scared to make eye contact, just have a glimpse at the bridge of the nose or the portion between their eyes, and they’ll think that you’re looking at them.

Be aware of your eye body language.
Some people instinctively send body language signals that affront other people, so be perceptive to your eye actions. Rolling your eyes indicates irritation, so avoid doing that.

Your eyes glow if you’re in a pleasant or cheerful condition, and they look dull when you’re lonely or dejected. It might be a good idea to rearrange your rendezvous with your desired person, if you’re facing any kind of problems or feeling dull and gloomy.

Reveal your eyes.
Try to avoid wearing sunglasses, because covering up them might give the intuition that you’re hiding something. Since eyes are very expressive, not allowing people to see your eyes implies that you don’t want them to know how you feel or think. It also makes the other party feel quite uncomfortable because they don’t know if you’re gazing at them or not.

Know what people’s eye body language means.
How to know whether people are paying attention to you? Nodding their heads, smiling, and/or leaning closer helps to establish eye contact and you’ll come to know by that.

Raising their eyebrows, might indicate or implies something, end the conversation, or might have even disagreed with something you’ve said.
It may be a good idea to keep away from the people who deliberately elude your eyes and show no intention of giving you a glance, probably are not interested in talking with you.

Don’t look if they don’t like to be looked at.
Be aware of people who might get offended by looking at them. Some people avoid eye contact because of extreme shyness; so don’t add to their discomfort by staring at them.

People of varied cultures may consider eye contact as a negative or disrespect act, so be sensitive when you’re meeting people and adjust accordingly to their beliefs.
Apart from reading eye body language, be smart enough to check other nonverbal signs so that you’ll have a more accurate assessment of what they’re thinking or feeling.