Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Watch Me Watch You

A PERSON'S GAZE has weight, resistance, muscularity. Clearly, there are people who use their eyes well. You know them: the sales rep, the fundraiser, the tyrannical supervisor. Their eyes force the question. These people may be as dumb as streetlamps, but they are an undeniable presence in the room. They know they must be dealt with. You know it, too.
Establishing and maintaining eye contact is hard for most people. Nervous foot tapping can be ceased, nail-biting stopped, tightly folded arms can be loosened, but eye contact? It's either there or not there. And when it's not there, it usually points to a "problem".

More here. Read it to get rich, get laid or even just to avoid work. (Link to SmartMoney)

9 comments:

Alok said...

thanks for this. I have so far managed to avoid work, I was just thinking how to do the other two. :)

km said...

Well, Alok, you only need to walk up to the object of your desire (i.e., the boss or a romantic partner - sometimes the same person, often not), look straight into his or her eye and tell them what you want :D

Just remember to turn the other cheek.

GhostOfTomJoad said...

"Just remember to turn the other cheek"

Hmm, I may not be "as dumb as streetlamps" but, still, I was wondering which cheek might you be referring to...

:-)

Ar said...

the most challening moment tht i've found is when u meet your match! Then it becomes a battle of the pupils. after that session, u realise, "My eyes are red" w/ a throbbing headache to boot!

km said...

Ghost: feeling very cheeky, eh? :)

Arun: Oh yeah, staring matches are not fun at all. Esp. if the other guy's wearing sunglasses.

MockTurtle said...

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Knowing that you should maintain eye contact without knowing how to 'manage' it can make you seem like a creep or a psycho. I know because I've been there.

Salil said...

km: In that case, just wear sunglasses as well. :)

[BTW - may be heading by NY in mid October for a few days. Any chance of crossing paths?]

km said...

Salil,

Do you know the dates you will be in NYC? I am definitely around, but relatively freer after Oct 15th. Let me know. (There's a bunch of other folks here who also might be interested in a meet...)

Salil said...

Aiming at 19-22 Oct.
20th might be the most convenient though, but still need to figure out flights/stay and such.

[BTW - could you email me at this addy?]