Eye contact can make or break your sales effectiveness.
You only need 20 seconds. That’s all it takes for people to connect with you through eye contact—to engage with you, deem you trustworthy, and decide you’re worth getting to know.
Stop staring at your phone while neglecting the people around you. Unfortunately, it’s become acceptable in some circles to answer the phone or check sports scores at dinner. It’s called FOMO—fear of missing out. However, when you have your eyes glued to a device, keeping up with what’s going on “out there,” you miss out on the people in front of you—your loved ones, colleagues, customers, and prospects.
Look at Me or Lose Out
The Wall Street Journal article, “Just Look Me in the Eye Already,” explores the decreased eye contact in our tech-driven society, and explains why this puts professionals at a disadvantage:
[Eye contact can be a tool for influencing others. Looking at a colleague when speaking conveys confidence and respect. Prolonged eye contact during a debate or disagreement can signal you’re standing your ground. It also points to your place on the food chain: People who are high-status tend to look longer at people they’re talking to, compared with others, says a 2009 research review in Image and Vision Computing.
Read the rest of the article for tips on making effective eye contact, plus when too much eye contact is well … yucky.
The Eye of the Beholder
A smile lights up your eyes. It’s an invitation for others to interact with you. Remain glued to your devices, and you’ll lose your MOJO.
There’s nothing more important than being present—whether you’re with a customer, your friends, or your family. So disconnect from your phone and connect with the people who really matter.
Connect With No More Cold Calling
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Comment Here
What impression do you get of people who rarely make eye contact, or whose eyes are always glued to their phones?
hi there, thank you for writing this article about the importance of eye contact. Being an active smart phone user today, I notice sometimes people have lesser eye contact today compare to last time because of the short attention span with have. With technology we tend to rely more on the technology where we forget the importance on the natural eye.
I find it frustrating if people look away and don’t maintain eye contact. It is like they don’t care what you say or pretending to listen – (PASSIVE LISTENING), they just nod their head just so that they let you know they care to listen but not listening attentively.
Hence i think by maintaining eye contact, it not only build good rapport but make people thinks that you really care.
Best Regards
eng chin
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