Eye contact is often overlooked, but is arguably a great skill for building authentic relationships.
Eye contact also subtly conveys ouremotionsand thoughts, whether its joy, affection, concern, or curiosity.
It depicts focus and genuineness, hence enabling the other party to feel important and listened to.
Verywell Mind / Getty Images
Avoiding Eye Contact Altogether
One of the biggest mistakes people make is avoiding eye contact entirely.
Often, this happens simply because it feels awkward to look someone else in the eyes.
Research has also found that those withsocial anxiety disorderhave a marked fear of direct eye contact.
Still, it can come across poorly when were engaging with another.
For example, maybe you gaze at their forehead or hands.
It can also make the other person feel self-conscious about the area youre staring at.
Distribute your gaze evenly across all participants, so everyone feels included in the interaction.
More importantly, Crowe reminds us that they’re also pretty easy to work on with a littleself-awarenessand practice.
Here are some quick ways to improve your eye contact game.
Nobodys perfect, so dont stress it too much.
Kreysa H, Kessler L, Schweinberger SR.Direct speaker gaze promotes trust in truth-ambiguous statements.
Paterson K, ed.PLoS ONE.
2016;11(9):e0162291.
