In recent years, many studies have shown that perceiving other individuals’ direct gaze has robust effects on various attentional and cognitive processes. "Maintaining strong eye contact is widely accepted to be an important communication skill in western cultures," Dr. Rogers said. Eye contact and movement helps people notice and remember you. In the western civilizations, eye contact is most often defined as a sign of confidence. Interpersonal Communication: A Review of Eye Contact - Volume 13 Issue 4. Eye contact alone doesn’t explain what makes your words memorable. Here's why. Researchers have also found that movement, when coupled with eye contact, has a profound effect. Infants instinctually have a strong desire to gaze into others’ eyes. Eye contact: whether we look at others, Keywords Communication/Body Language/Non-verbal communication This article has been double-blind peer reviewed Key points Verbal communication includes the written and spoken word Non-verbal communication includes facial expressions, eye contact and posture Body language can enhance or detract In research … While women and men differ in their patterns of eye contact, it's the strongest form of nonverbal communication. However, considerably less attention has been devoted to investigating the affective effects triggered by eye contact. To send this article to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. 10 Reasons Eye Contact Is Everything in Public Speaking When you're in front of an audience, strategic eye contact has the power to change how people think of you. Further, in these tapes, physicians’ speech behaviors comprised mainly neutral expressions, with … Eye contact is natural. A recent article from the Wall Street Journal discusses the effects of declining eye contact in the workplace, citing our own research on ideal eye contact behavior, and we wanted to share our further analysis. Eye contact is a type of nonverbal communication that is strongly influenced by social behaviour. Although some studies suggested that Japanese participants attend to the eye region when explicitly asked to process facial information [24,25], lengthy eye contact with others is avoided in Japanese culture , and the Japanese demonstrate less eye contact than Westerners in daily communication [29,30]. Eye contact is not consistent amongst different religions, cultures and social backgrounds. Eye contact is healthy. Yet, why is it that so many adults with fairly good interpersonal communication skills have long since “unlearned” this fundamental and indispensable nonverbal behavior? Stay up-to-date on QC's communication analytics, research, and thought leadership. In the science of nonverbal communication, the most… Eye contact is normal. Eye contact is the strongest form of nonverbal communication. Recent research also provides further evidence for these findings on the relevance of eye contact at appropriate junctures for the organization of patient-centered communication . Be aware, also, of the involuntary messages your eyes can deliver: As the most significant moments in nonverbal communication we can cite: facial expressions, posture, proximity, touch and perhaps the most powerful way in communication, eye contact. This article reviews research concerning the effects of others’ gaze direction on observers’ affective responses. 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