The power of eye contact: how does it work?

There is a Spanish saying that states that “the look is the mirror of the soul.” And it is that With eye contact we can show others how we feel, both physically and emotionally.. What’s more, through looking we can also create a closer bond with the person we are talking to, making them feel more comfortable, or on the contrary, making them feel threatened.

Definitely, our eyes are a part of non-verbal communication, which is also done with a smile or hands or shoulders. After knowing this. Would you like to know how eye contact works in people’s relationships? Well, keep reading below, we are going to explain some interesting questions.

Eye contact: depends on the situation

The gaze works differently depending on the situation in which the person finds themselves. For example, this usually be more intense and longer in a conversation between only two people. On the contrary, in a group the members who exchange glances do not usually do so for more than 3 or 5 seconds.

Likewise, within a conversation, you can count how much time you look at a person and when you are not. This is usually 30% eye contact, and 60% not doing it while listening. If you look less than that, it may mean that you are not interested in the conversation, but if you look more than that, it means that you are obviously very interested in it! And you know what that means, right? The answer is explained in the next point.

Lovers keep a longer look

It’s hard to tell if a person hates you or loves you when they make really long eye contact with you. As everything in this life It depends on the situation and the relationship of the people.

However, it is clear that those in love who are spending a romantic evening tend to look at each other more intensely and much longer. In fact, it is proven that those people who like you tend to look more into your eyes than those others who are truly not interested in you.

Intense stares can be annoying depending on the culture

Eye contact does not work and denotes the same thing in all corners of the world. For example, the Japanese interpret not making eye contact as a sign of respect for others. However, for most Westerners, failure to do so may mean distrust or contempt.

But not only do we see eye contact as something normal, but also, in many Arab countries they tend to look at each other much more intensely.

Liars make more eye contact

It has always been believed that when someone lies they usually avoid eye contact. Nothing could be further from the truth. And it is that Every time a liar lies, he pays close attention to the other’s face. The reason? Check if she is really believing you or not. On the other hand, the liar knows that he also gains trust and credibility.

So you have to pay close attention to how people act, because eye contact can be a way in which the other person is attentive to know if they are manipulating us better or worse. In the same way, someone who does not make eye contact does not mean that he is not sincere, it may be that he is a shy or insecure person.

As you have verified, Through our eyes we can show the whole world what we feel at all times. And you? Don’t you usually look others in the eyes? Well, from here we recommend that you practice it since those around you will surely “see” you in a better way.

The Duchenne smile

What does the smile have to do with the look? If we want to know if someone is smiling at us sincerely, we will find the key in their gaze. When we smile we tend to pull the corners of our lips to the sides and show our teeth. The muscles involved in smiling are the zygomatic major and minor. However, and here is the key, when the smile is authenticthe orbicularis muscles also contract, that is, we tend to wrinkle the outside of our eyes.

Guillaume Duchenne was dedicated in the 19th century to electrically stimulating the facial muscles of a large number of people. And he came to the conclusion that the purely genuine smile was the one that involved the zygomatic muscles and the mouth and the orbicularis. Duchenne stated that contraction of the orbicularis muscles only occurred spontaneously, so a forced smile could not involve these muscles. So, if we want to know if someone is sincere when he laughs with us, we just have to observe his look.

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