I’m sure you must have experienced this:
Someone is chatting with you and the little voice in your head is screaming “HELLO, OVER HERE, HELLOOOO, HERE I AM, OVER HERE” (mental picture of you jumping up and down frantically waving your hands). And while you’re mind is doing this, did you also notice you didn’t catch what they just said.
Lack of eye contact is very distracting. Your subconscious mind is incredibly attuned to it, and you’ll have made a number of judgements about the other person in a very short space of time.
Why do I bring this up?
Lets flip the picture a little here, lets say you’ve finally landed the networking meeting with a key person, someone who could pull a few strings for you, or maybe you’ve been fortunate enough to land an interview for the perfect job.
The amount of eye contact you engage is going to influence what the other person will hear you say (or not), and what impressions or judgements they’re going to formulate about you.
Too little eye contact and they may think you’re not interested, lying or lack confidence. Too much and they may think you’re too aggressive or just creepy. Somewhere around 80% seems to be about the right amount.
So as part of your preparation, also practice how you’ll interact with the other person. It may just prove to be your winning tactic.
September 15, 2006 at 10:28 pm |
Nice post – I agree with you…one can make or break their first meeting with a VIP by mastering the art of eye contact. And what’s the saying about only getting one chance to make a great “first impression?”
Keep up the good work,
Dennis