Body Language of The Eye Shuttle
Cue: Eye Shuttle (The)
Synonym(s): Eyes Flicked Left And Right, Eye Darting, Flicking The Eyes.
Description: A left and right flick of the eyes back and forth while the head remains still.
In One Sentence: Shuttling the eyes back and forth signals uneasiness or a desire to escape.
How To Use it: Use the eye shuttle to tell others that you want to leave by shifting your eyes from them to doorway and back. This can help them speed up the conversation by applying nonverbal pressure. Rather than appearing rude outright, the eye shuttle can tell others the same thing with fewer risks.
Context: General.
Verbal Translation: “If I can find a door, I think I can make an escape so I’m going to flick my eyes around the room until I find a sure thing. I’m going to do it discreetly so I’m not noticed – I’ll keep my head steady and will continue talking and smiling.
Variant: Related to Eye Aversion, Gaze Avoidance and Wandering Eyes, Looking Askance, Shifty Eyes.
Cue In Action: When Dave joined the discussion, Mark began to shift his gaze around the room left and right yet he remained in place, smiling and entertaining the group with his usual jokes. It was obvious that Mark didn’t like Dave all that much and wanted to get out of there.
Meaning and/or Motivation: This is a cue that someone is subconsciously seeking an escape route without trying to be noticed.
Cue Cluster: The eye shuttle will be connected to feigned cues of interest such as smiling, open body language, palm displays and so forth since the motivation behind the cue is to exit the situation covertly (rather than honestly).
Body Language Category: Disengagement, Dislike (nonverbal), Escape movements, Eye Language, Indicators of disinterest (IOD).
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