The Glasers
  • Courses
    • All Courses
    • BreakThrough Conflict
    • Hardwiring Teamwork
    • Persuasion & Influence
  • Ways to Learn
    • All Learning Options
    • Hybrid Learning System
    • Self-paced video
    • Live Virtual
    • In-Person Seminar
  • Trainer Training
  • Testimonials
    • Testimonials on Virtual Learning
    • Written Testimonials
  • About the Glasers
    • About the Glasers
    • Communication Capsule Blog
    • Published Research
    • Learning Products
  • Contact

Look Up! Your Eyes Mesmerize

6/3/2014

3 Comments

 
We hope this week’s Communication Capsule gives you a boost. Your feedback on our Forum is welcomed and valued.

Here’s looking at you!  When someone makes eye contact, they are perceived as more connected, as well as more trustworthy and likeable. We’ve long discussed the value of eye contact, and now it turns out that this basic mode of communication is so powerful it even has an impact on our relationship with “brand mascots.”

In a study published last month in the journal Environment and Behavior, researchers at Cornell manipulated the gaze of the cartoon rabbit on Trix cereal boxes and found that adults were more likely to choose Trix over competing brands if the rabbit was looking at them rather than away. Researchers also found that the eyes of characters on boxes of cereal marketed to kids were directed downward—to meet the upturned gaze of little tykes in grocery aisles.

If marketers know how to invoke the power of eye contact, we should all be conscious of its impact.  Eye contact activates the parts of the brain that help us to more acutely and accurately process another person’s feelings and intentions. It gives us, as The New York Times put it, “a cognitive jump start.”


So, look up from those mobile devices and connect! You will not only be perceived as more aware and empathic—you actually will be.

Please share your experience: When you consciously make an effort to increase eye contact, what do you notice about the outcome?  Join the conversation and click "comments" on our Community of Practice Forum.

3 Comments
Bobbi
6/3/2014 05:37:17 am

I'm not only looking you in the eyes--I'm smiling also- what a winning combination.

Reply
Susan
6/5/2014 06:50:11 am

Smiling back, Bobbi.

Reply
Paddy
6/6/2014 06:16:26 am

When working in London I learnt that different cultures have different norms in regard to eye contact. If Westerners are not careful they misinterpret mon eye contact.

Here is an extract from Wikipedia:

Muslims often lower their gaze and try not to focus on the opposite sex's features except for the hands and face.[17] Lustful glances to those of the opposite sex, young or adult, are also prohibited.
Japanese children are taught in school to direct their gaze at the region of their teacher's Adam's apple or tie knot. As adults, Japanese lower their eyes when speaking to a superior as a gesture of respect.[18]
In many cultures, such as East Asia and Nigeria,[19] it is respectful not to look the dominant person in the eye, but in Western culture this can be interpreted as being "shifty-eyed", and the person judged badly because "he wouldn't look me in the eye"; references such as "shifty-eyed" can refer to suspicions regarding an individual's unrevealed intentions or thoughts.[20]Nevertheless, the seeking of constant unbroken eye contact by the other participant in a conversation can often be considered overbearing or distracting by many even in western cultures, possibly on an instinctive or subconscious level.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013

    Categories

    All
    BreakThrough Conflict
    Children & Young Adult
    Communication
    Community Of Practice
    Hardwiring Teamwork
    Leadership
    Persuasion And Influence

Communication Capsule Blog
Published Research
Press/Media Resources
Organizational Culture Survey
III Survey
Resources
CoreSkills
Glaser & Associates, Inc.
Executive Offices
1740 Craigmont Avenue, Eugene, OR 97405
541-343-7575 | 800-980-0321
info@theglasers.com
Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions
© 2019 Glaser & Associates.  All Rights Reserved.
  • Courses
    • All Courses
    • BreakThrough Conflict
    • Hardwiring Teamwork
    • Persuasion & Influence
  • Ways to Learn
    • All Learning Options
    • Hybrid Learning System
    • Self-paced video
    • Live Virtual
    • In-Person Seminar
  • Trainer Training
  • Testimonials
    • Testimonials on Virtual Learning
    • Written Testimonials
  • About the Glasers
    • About the Glasers
    • Communication Capsule Blog
    • Published Research
    • Learning Products
  • Contact