Body Language of Direct Eye Contact
Cue: Direct Eye Contact
Synonym(s): Eye Contact
Description: Eyes that meet someone else’s (versus looking away or at the mouth, chin, or body).
In One Sentence: Direct eye contact signals to others that one is intently listening and focused on the person whose eyes they have met.
How To Use it: Use direct eye contact to signal that you are dominant and can withstand reciprocal eye contact without wavering. Alternatively, use eye contact in dating to signal sexual interest. While with friends, eye contact can also send a warm glow when it is not done in a piercing fashion. Various cultures use direct eye contact in different ways – therefore, it would pay to be conscious of these social norms when traveling.
Context: a) General, b) Dating.
Verbal Translation: “I’m interested in you and I want you to know that so my eyes are meeting yours.”
Variant: Eyes are an important source of information; see other eye cues for more details. See Friendly Social Gaze, Staring or The Evil Eye, Gaze Omission, Gazing Adoringly, Intimate Gaze (The) or Triangular Gaze Pattern.
Cue In Action: When speaking, the lovers made frequent eye contact.
Meaning and/or Motivation: An indication of active honest listening. Practiced liars feign eye contact to study whether or not a lie is being rejected or accepted. In a dating context, direct eye contact is a sign of interest. The meaning of direct eye contact is hugely varied and one should look at the associated cues to determine the true intent of direct eye contact.
Eye contact can be piercing and studied, an attack, or alluring and coy such as gazing. See variants for more specific meaning of eye contact.
Cue Cluster: Varied depending on context.
Body Language Category: Amplifier, Arousal, Attentive, Aggressive body language, Anger, Authoritative body language, Courtship display, Confident, Dominant body language, High confidence body language, Indicator of interest (IoI), Leadership body language, Liking, Rapport or rapport building.
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