7. Thesis Eye contact is an integral part of interpersonal relationships and communication in its many forms.
8. concept The eyes themselves can send several kinds of messages; meeting someone’s glance with your eyes is usually a sign of involvement, whereas looking away often a sign of desire to avoid contact. Another kind of message the eyes communicate is a positive or negative attitude; eyes can communicate dominance and submission. (Adler, & Proctor II, 2007, p. 217)
9. Definition “A meeting of the eyes between two people that expresses meaningful nonverbal communication”. (Synonym.com, 2007) Eye contact is what we portray towards others and our true feelings to things. Eye contact assists others in understanding what we TRULY mean and understanding how we handle different situations.
10. Positive: DIRECT CONTACT Direct eye contact is used to communicate attentiveness or respect. Additionally, it is said that communicators that use direct eye contact are far more likely to get others to comply with their requests than are those who make evasive glances. (Adler, & Proctor II, 2007, p. 211) Although direct eye contact is a sign of respect in the United States, this is not so for countries such as Japan. The following short clip illustrates direct eye contact in the positive form.
11. Positive: BRIGHT, EXCITED EYES Bright eyes show surprise, excitement, and happiness. During the act of bright eyes, individuals tend to have a smile on their face, eyes wide open, and if you look closely it sometimes seems that the individual is smiling with their eyes. A perfect example of bright eyes is shown in this clip from the movie Slumdog Millionaire, when the young man finds the girl he was looking for on the side walk.
12. Positive: avoiding the stare During dyadic communication, direct eye contact is important. However, giving an individual that “deer in a headlight” stare can make them uncomfortable. An occasional glance to the side can put the other party at ease. The woman in the following clip shows an excellent example of how to occasionally glance off, while maintaining direct eye contact.
13. negative: glaring eyes A negative example of direct eye contact is glaring. Glaring is having a fixed look of hostility, fierceness, or anger. (merriam-webster.com, 2009)
14. negative: Shifty eyes Another negative of direct eye contact is having "shifty eyes". Shifty means given to deception, evasion, or fraud. Shifting means to change the place, position, or direction of. (merriam-webster.com, 2009) Both can be used together for defining shifty eyes which is the movement of eyes representing deception or evasion.
15. negative: lack of contact The person lacks confidence to look into the eye of the person they are speaking with. The following clip from the Presidential debate illustrates the lack of eye contact between John McCain and Barack Obama.
16. negative: eye rolling Described as being bored with what the speaker is talkingabout or if the listener does not believe what the speaker is saying. The following clip shows Sen. McCain eye’s rolling after hearing his opponent’s response.
17. conclusion Eye Contact Integral to interpersonal communication Used to determine a person's emotion Can be used as positive or negative
