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Eye Contact When Talking.

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by Kaiser, Dec 6, 2014.

  1. Kaiser

    Kaiser Guest

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    Do you keep eye contact when speaking to somebody? Do you look away or down? Or, do you keep eye contact for a little bit, look away or down, then make eye contact again before repeating this?

    In some cultures this is a big no-no. But for those who live in an area, where eye contact is considered okay, what is your opinion on that? Should somebody look you in the eye when speaking? Should it be all the time, or in certain situations?
     
  2. The Virgo

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    I make eye contact but it depends on the person i'm speaking with
     
  3. MintberryCrunch

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    I tend to make eye contact for most of the time I'm talking to someone, although I may look away for a second or two at a time--no one seems to mind that.
     
  4. Hexagon

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    I keep eye contact, but without staring.
     
  5. MrK21

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    *blushes* I have Asperger's syndrome, so yeah I am bad with eye contact
     
  6. Manta

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    I break eye contact occasionally, usually to follow gesticulations or look at the area/direction of focus. It creeps me out a bit when someone just stares straight into my eyes without looking away occasionally. At work, we have to keep an eye on the kids, so I usually look out while talking with my coworkers instead of at them.
     
  7. Snever2late

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    I generally keep eye contact, unless it makes someone noticeably uncomfortable.
     
  8. DinelodiiGitli

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    I keep eye contact with the ground. :lol:
    But seriously I'm always looking down, eye contact is uncomfortable.
     
  9. Kaiser

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    I can keep eye contact, but I prefer not to, unless I'm showing sincerity.

    I know, that sounds weird. But I've noticed, if I keep eye contact for too long, the audience starts to feel used. They don't feel like I'm being authentic, which is a problem. So, making eye contact for a little bit, breaking it, then remaking it, over and over, produces better results for me. However, I'm not going to look at the ceiling while you speak; I may look at your chin, for example.

    The only time I'll continually look somebody in the eye, is when I'm looking to see, if they're lying or hiding something. This makes them nervous, more so than they already are, and they tend to fall to pieces.
     
  10. Candace

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    I do, but I don't try to keep my eyes on them. Maybe every couple of seconds I glance up on them in order to show that I'm paying attention.
     
  11. Ryujin

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    I feel very uncomfortable when making eye contact with someone, so I tend to look around a lot whilst speaking.
    Like a lot.
     
  12. Burnedcloset

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    Wow, good question. I've been literally thinking about this for some time now. I can't seem to stare people in the eyes when I talk to them. I look at people mouths. Maybe I'm just weird. I'll try to notice later today.
     
  13. Eisenheim

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    I tend to look around too, as I usually let the other talk, it would be unconfortable to be making eye contact all the time
     
  14. keeping eye contact gives me butterflies and I get really self conscious... but if I'm genuinely friendly with the person I'll try to look at them when I talk to them:wink:
     
  15. drendrle09

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    I think the "proper" technique is to make eye contact for 5-7 seconds, break for a few seconds, and then start over. I read somewhere that keeping eye contact 80 percent of a conversation communicates interest and 70 percent boredom!
     
  16. Mirko

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    I usually keep eye contact when I speak with someone. I'll look away or down sometimes when I try to put together additional thoughts but then will re-establish eye contact when I communicate the additional thoughts to them.
     
  17. mbanema

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    I'm pretty good at maintaining eye contact when talking with someone, though I make sure to look around once in awhile so I'm not staring.
     
  18. Yosia

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    I'm awful at it, I can only keep eye-contact for like a second. >///<
     
  19. ahardlife

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    am alright making eye contact if the guy is hot then I admit am practically undressing them with my eyes.
     
  20. Brenndo

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    I used to have immense trouble looking into people's eyes but I think it is related to ADHD because once I started meds for that, the ability to look into eyes went away.

    Now I look into people's eyes but it becomes intimidating so I will divert for a short period of time to their forehead, hair, nose, ear, mouth, chin... something like that. I always keep eye contact with their face. I never look down.

    ---------- Post added 6th Dec 2014 at 03:50 PM ----------

    I have the most trouble keeping eye contact when I'm lying...