The Topic
Communication skills and interactions are very important for every part of life. The way that people communicate can affect how well they do in school, in their careers and in their interactions with friends and family members. Some of the most important communication skills for success in our lives occurs without the use of words, and instead takes the form of an action. This can be the way in which someone stands, what their posture looks like, where they look, where they hold their arms and whether or not they make eye contact. This is because people tend to say things with their bodies that may otherwise go unnoticed, or may indicate that they mean something different from what they are saying. Non-verbal communication can be
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It is because of this that I wanted to explore a specific aspect that people may not think of on a regular basis, eye contact. Eye contact exists as a form of body language that we often unknowingly use while communicating with others. It is an important part of how we represent who we are and what we are trying to say to others, and it stand alone from our words. When we are talking to a friend, having an important conversation, making direct eye contact with them can tell them that we are listening to what they have to say and that we are engaged in what they are saying. It illustrates that we respect them enough to focus on their words and to listen thoughtfully. I find that I tend to fail to make eye contact when I am uninterested in a person or what they are talking about, which is a fascinating discovery about myself and my own ability to communicate with others. Not only does eye contact illustrate interest, it also illustrates a connection between those who are communicating. When we look someone in the eye, we are building a connection to them. To not make eye contact could speak to that person and say, “I do not like you, I do not want to connect to you.” Which may be unintentional and may negatively impact our ability to create a strong relationship with someone important to us. Also, what we are saying with our eyes speaks …show more content…
First is that we can tell a lot about a person simply by how they make or avoid eye contact within moments of first meeting them. That is to say that, friendly and open people tend to look directly into the faces of those with whom they speak and are therefore more effective communicators than those who avoid or shy away from eye contact. My research has led me to also note that eye contact or the lack of eye contact also depends on the social scenario with which one is presented. Clerks and people working behind counters at stores may be less likely to make eye contact when interacting with a customer because they get paid the same amount no matter what, while waitresses and bar staff are more keen on making direct eye contact as a way of appearing friendly and open to their customers. Because service industry people rely on how they are perceived in order to make more money from tips, they try to seem nice and kind. In terms of social and familial relationships, practicing direct eye contact is an important skill for communicating, and is often looked over as an important way to improve how others view us. By keeping eye contact with whom we are speaking with, we show that we are interested in what they are saying and tell them that they are important to us. This can not only serve to improve how we are viewed
The article “Face Engagements” by Erving Goffman discusses in depth the factors of how individuals in today’s society associate with each other through the use of non-verbal communication, the use of eye contact, as well as social cues. Goffman firstly discusses Social Inattention, which is “when a person might stare openly at others and express to then what they feel about what they are seeing with the use of only their eyes (355). Another important way to socially network is through the use of Face Engagement, which is also referred to as encounter. Goffman explains this as “when two or more individuals are in a situation where they may be focused on each other attentively and they may verbally communicate, but it may also be gestures that
So, when it comes down to making eye contact, women are more likely to do it than men, simply because they don’t have to make contact when it comes down to communicating with each other. On her second point, Tannen explains that women are more understanding when it comes down to the conversation, they always want some way to relate so
People want full attention and full eye contact, to ensure interest in the topic being discussed. I discovered that when I would talk to someone with my back completely turned to someone was when they were offended the most, rather than when I just didn’t make eye contact but was faced in their general vicinity. I think that most people reacted negatively towards this experiment because of the social norm that involves being polite and attentive towards a stranger. Being rude to someone whom I’ve never met before for no reason broke the common social norms of politeness. From this experiment I learned that it is greatly important to make eye contact with someone during any type of conversation. If not, it is seen as very rude and will result in negative reactions or attitudes, and give the impression to whomever I am engaging in conversation that I am not interested in what they are saying to
Body language is also used to communicate. Gestures, stance, posture and facial expressions can convey a message. People try to use this to their advantage. For example a girl may smile frequently to appear as a happy person. It follows then, eye contact must be important as well. According to Macionis, eye contact suggests that one is open to socializing and avoiding eye contact ‘discourages conversation’.
Woods states that nonverbal patterns reflect specific cultures and nonverbal behavior is not instinctive but learned in the process of socialization (p. 124). Our culture in Puerto Rico, children are considered to be disrespectful if they make eye contact when spoken to by an adult; especially when being reprimanded. Nevertheless, closing one’s eyes completely is a sign of unreserved disrespect when someone is speaking to
For Asians and Native Americans it means an understanding or consideration, for the French and Spanish speakers it may mean that they agree with what was said, and African-Americans may use it as a response to an inappropriate question. The use of eye contact to facilitate communication also varies among different cultures. European and American cultures value eye contact during conversation because it means the other person is interested in what is said, while in some Asian countries, Africa and the Middle East it is seen as a sign of disrespect or aggression. Gestures are also valuable when communicating because they serve as illustrators for words that the speaker uses, are regulators
Ellsworth, P & Carlsmith, J.M (1968). Effects of eye contact and verbal content on affective response to a dyadic interaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 10, 15-20.
Eye gaze is essential for evaluating the following objects: liking and attraction, attentiveness, competence, social skills and mental health, credibility, and dominance (Kleinke, 1986), these evaluations provide information about the target of another person’s attention and expression. Therefore, eye gaze helps to obtain information about communicative intentions and future behaviour (Baron-Cohen, 1995). Moreover, according to Patterson’s distinguish between communicative behaviours and indicative behaviours in 1982, only communicative behaviours are driven by a goal or purpose. Thus when infants are using eye gaze for communication, they are subjective to process the information transition. This statement also be demonstrated by many studies. For instance, D 'Entremont and his colleagues tested 24 infants form 3- to 6-month-olds in 1997 and they found that 73% participants followed the adults’ head-turn behaviour to change the direction of their eye
Currie (2007) states Effective Verbal Communication is important when building relationships with clients, customers, and the media (pg 1). Verbal communication is important along with listening skills so that communication between parties is clear. Verbal communication is accompanied by sign language called non verbal communication. This communication can be expressed in many ways: One can ask another “How are you today” Reply, “I’m okay” but the shrugging of the shoulders, squinting of eyes and lips closed tightly together gives another answer.
When we communicate, we can say a lot without speaking. Our body, our posture, tone of voice and the expression on our face all display a message. If our feelings don’t fit with our words, it is often the body language that gets heard and believed. Nonverbal communication is a rapidly flowing interactive process. Self-awareness and an understanding of the cues you may be sending are paired with the cues others send and pick up from you. To do this effectively, it is necessary to clear your mind of all distractions. Try planning, creating, talking to yourself, thinking about the other person or what to say, then you won't be paying attention to the moment-to-moment experience, have the presence of mind to pick up on nonverbal cues, or fully understand what's really going on in the conversation.
Surprise! Eye contact is a sign that you happen to be a great listener! Now what has the eye got to do with listening? When you keep eye contact with the person you are talking to it indicates that you are focused and paying attention. It means that you are actually listening to what the person has to say. That is where the saying "Don't just listen with your ears" comes from. So "listen" more than talk, everyone loves a good listener especially the opposite gender!
From my first observation, I was located at my local Starbucks. It was a good day to go that day, because there was many different types of people there. I was able to see quite a few different types of interactions. I had noticed that I was also displaying nonverbal eye behavior while I was there. Such as, the use of scanning, which in the textbook states on page 92, “our eyes scan, focus, and collect information about the world around us” (Richmond, McCroskey, and Hickson 2012). I also noticed that I was not the only person that did that. Most of the costumers that walked in did that. I also exchanged the eye behavior of civil inattention with a Policeman. I watched the interaction between two friends, whom were woman. They were in mutual gaze pretty much most of their conversation and rarely would get out
In my day-to-day life I have a tendency to look down when passing people to avoid eye contact or to pull out my phone to avoid making conversation. While using my phone is a form of Symbolic communication which people usually associate with being busy and not available to have a conversation, not making eye contact is a way to avoid conversation to avoid communicating my feelings or communication in general. I think my insecurities have a lot to do with my communication skills. I not only avoid conversations because of insecurities, but also because when I do talk to people it’s all scripted conversation anyway. It’s always less genuine because I never what to hurt anyone’s feelings by disagreeing with them or even by expressing how I truly
Non-verbal communication doesn’t involve words, but is a powerful form of communication. The way your body language is tells the other party whether or not you are receiving their message or just listening. When your nonverbal behaviors align with the words you’re saying, they indicate to the person you are communicating with that you are trustworthy. When non-verbal behaviors do not align with your message it sends mixed signals on what you are trying to convey. When communicating in business it is imperative that you are conscious of your own body language and nonverbal cues as well as that of
Global communication is the communication that occurs all over around the globe across international borders. The requirement for global communication is because of increase in influence and effects of globalization, Different culture, societies and countries share their ideas, knowledge, cultural and societal practices through using of technology and spread their ideology and dominant set of minds in other countries and societies. Mostly, the dominant and independent cultures or we can say that influential countries, which have power to shape, reform and controls the ideology of others dependent societies by introducing the way of communication in all over the world through globalization.