Eye Contact

Of all the ways we communicate with people, eye contact is the most powerful. "How we look at other people, meet their gaze and look away can make all the difference between an effective encounter and one that leads to embarrassment or even rejection." Whether it's a loving gaze, hostile stare, nervous glance or a refusal to look altogether, the duration of the contact (or lack thereof) reveals our interest in the other party and the situation.

Looking at people and meeting their eyes are the first steps toward striking up friendships and making positive impressions. The best advice is to make short frequent glances in social situations. Making eye contact for too long a duration can be seen as threatening; the subtext of interest becomes distorted. Failing to look at others causes suspicion as they wonder what signals are being masked. "Honesty and the ability to look someone in the eye are very closely related" Refusing to make eye contact also sends messages of arrogance and contempt communicating to the other person that they are insignificant, a non-person. There are subtle, silent rules to eye contact and they vary from culture to culture.

With people we don't know where our personal "bubble of space" is also being invaded, eye contact hardly exists. In an elevator, on a plane or on the street, make contact if you wish, but break it immediately. Any glance longer than a brief one becomes a sign of recognition or rudeness. In general conversation, you can make eye contact for a few seconds at a time before breaking it. And in public speaking situations, glances of even longer duration are vital to getting your message across
In normal conversation, eye contact plays an important role as the regulator of turn taking. To start a conversation with someone, you need to first establish eye contact. If that person looks back, "permission" has been granted to begin speaking. As soon as the conversation begins, you will find that as the speaker, you look away from the listener glancing back only intermittently to check in. If you're speaking to a group, be sure to check in with all sets of eyes to maintain their interest. When you are done, grant permission via eye contact to the person who has signalled his intention to speak next. If you don't want to be interrupted by someone, avoid his gaze. Without eye contact, your listener will find it more difficult to interrupt which will keep you in control of the conversation.

When we pause to choose our words, we usually look away from our audience. Some people look to the left, some to the right. Experts tell us that those who look away to the right are more scientifically minded. Those who look to the left tend to be more religious or artistic. If we're gathering our thoughts to answer a question, the hemispheres of our brain determine which way we look. If we're asked a verbal question, we tend to look right to gather our thoughts. A spatial question will cause most of us to look to the left. In public speaking situations, skilled speakers look directly at their audience when they want to emphasize a point or display conviction. At other times, they sweep with audience with their eyes taking a few seconds to "click" with each set of eyes. Their goal is to appear as though they are having a mini-conversation with each member of the audience

It is important not to make eye contact look deliberate or controlled. The goal is always to use your eyes in a relaxed way so that you never make others feel uncomfortable
• Listeners typically look at the speaker about 75% of the time in glances lasting 1-7 seconds
• Eye contact rarely lasts longer than three seconds before one or both viewers experience a powerful urge to glance away
• In Japan, listeners are taught to focus on a speaker's neck in order to avoid eye contact, while in the U.S., listeners are encouraged to gaze into a speaker's eyes.
• If someone should surprise you, stay calm. Look him right in the eye--always maintain eye contact. That way you don't look shifty-eyed, but, more important, all he will notice is your eyes.
• When speaking with others, people who have a hard time making new friends are more likely to look down at the ground, or look away. They rarely will look at the face of the person they are talking with.

How many of us thought we are Raj from Dilwale Dulhaniyan Le Jayenge... Thinking that our Simran will look back when I say "Palte ke deek".

How many of us might have thought about someone when we made some sort of Eye Contact in School and College...

Come on Bring back some spark from old days

Superstitions

Superstitions are believed to be signs which people observe to gain good luck or to stay clear of bad luck. Superstitions have evolved over a very long time. People just seem to need something, or someone, to blame if their life goes drastically wrong. For example, if someone has some unexpected bad news it can be more acceptable for them to put the blame on the ladder they walked under earlier that morning, rather than face a difficulty as their own responsibility. There appear to be more superstitions about avoiding bad luck than there are about creating good luck. Perhaps this is because people like to think that if something good happens it is due to their own hard work or because they deserve it, whereas when something bad happens people don't like to blame themselves.

Superstitions vary from country, region and religion. In some places a person with a particular star sign will be first person to visit the home on a new year. This is supposed to bring good luck. If something wrong happens, then ' I told you not to call the person’. Someone else will get a chance next time.

In Western folklore, traditional superstitions associated with bad luck include Friday the 13th, walking under a ladder, and black cats. This article will discuss superstitions involving cats across the world.

• A cat onboard a ship is considered to bring luck
• It is considered bad luck to pass a black cat after 9pm
• In North America, its bad luck if a black cat crosses your path and good luck if a white cat crosses your path.
• In Britain and Ireland, it's the opposite.
• Black Cats - In ancient Egypt, the Goddess Bast was a black, female cat. Christians, wanting to rid society of all traces of other religions, convinced the ignorant that black cats were demons in disguise and should thus be destroyed. In the process, they also destroyed the kindly ladies who cared for the cats, believing them to be witches. Being demons, a black cat crossing your path would create a barrier of evil, cutting you off from God and blocking the entrance to heaven
• A kitten born in May - a witches cat
• A black cat crossing your path - good luck (A white cat in USA, Spain and Belgium)
• A black cat seen from behind - a bad omen
• Stray tortoise shell cat - bad omen
• Cat sneezing three times - the family will catch a cold
• USA belief - A cat washing on the doorstep - the clergy will visit
• Killing a cat - sacrificing your soul to the Devil
• Kicking a cat - Rheumatism
• A cat sneezing is a good omen for everyone who hears it. - Italian superstition
• It is bad luck to see a white cat at night
• Dreaming of white cat means good luck
• If a cat washes behind its ears, it will rain. - English superstition
• A cat sleeping with all four paws tucked under means cold weather ahead. - English superstition
• English schoolchildren believe seeing a white cat on the way to school is sure to bring trouble. To avert bad luck, they must either spit, or turn around completely and make the sign of the cross.
• A black cat crossing one's path by moonlight means death in an epidemic. - Irish superstition
• A strange black cat on your porch brings prosperity. - Scottish superstition
• A cat on top of a tombstone meant certainly that the soul of the departed buried was possessed by the devil.
• Two cats seen fighting near a dying person, or on the grave shortly after a funeral, are really the Devil and an Angel fighting for possession
• To see a white cat on the road is lucky.
• To kill a cat brings seventeen years of bad luck. - Irish superstition
• When moving to a new home, always put the cat through the window instead of the door, so that it will not leave.
• In 16th century Italy, it was believed that if a black cat lay on the bed of a sick man, he would die. But there's also a belief that a cat will not remain in the house where someone is about to die. Therefore, if the family cat refuses to stay indoors, it is believed that someone in the house is doomed.
• In India if any cat crosses the road then it is bad luck if you cross the spot first where the cat crossed the road.
• Kerala Supersition : Two political parties seen fighting on the road, means harthal for Next two days