Do you find it easier to concentrate when you maintain eye contact while someone is speaking, or does looking away help you focus better?

[Anonymous]

Maintaining eye contact helps me focus better.

Looking away helps me focus better.

Updates

+1 y

I find it hard to specifically imagine things when I'm looking into someone eyes. Then I look away, I can imagine more clearly. 🤔 Not sure why though.

[IslaTheWitch]

For me, the easiest way to concentrate is to keep my hands busy by drawing repetitive patterns. This is also the way to avoid longer eye contact, especially with people I don't know too well.

I have many notepads with this pattern, every page :P

[ZiaCowel2000]

Depends…if it’s not directly at me I can listen. I multitask all the time. But also if I’m not interested in the topic I should look at them to try and maintain the conversation easier.


But if I’m talking with someone I need to know if their engaged. Personally I don’t like looking into peoples eyes, I want to look away. But I don’t want to seem unnatural because I wouldn’t want someone else doing that to me.

[CalmUntilAbused]

It depends. If the one speaking is a woman, looking away helps me focus on what is being said instead of on building my defense for the court. If the one speaking is a man or if the meeting is an online one, where no one can prove me which camera feed I was looking at, maintaining eye contact might be helpful, as it aids me in reading between the lines, especially if what is said is not a proper technical report.

[NathanDavis]

at this point, I don't have a difficulty with it...

but back when I was a kid... I would do both, back and forth... depending on how I felt and also who they were, switching it up would work for me

and also realized that many times it doesn't matter to fixate on this, and I would just let it happen "naturally"

[Siri137]

Looking away. I just can't concentrate properly when I try to look people in the eye, and so when I'm engaged in one of my interminable monologues, I just look down at the floor or table. I don't know how people manage to look others in the eye while trying to explain something, for example. It's weird, it must be some sort of superpower they have.

[HawkPerception]

Definitely easier to concentrate when maintaining eye contact. I think that people that say otherwise have weak communication skills. If they don't have enough confidence to look you in the eyes, it can imply they feel intimidated or unworthy. It can imply they fear judgment. It could imply they're being deceptive. There are many reasons, but overall, you should try to maintain eye contact. People take you more seriously if you can.

[Insecure2]

I tend to look away especially if I just met the person. It's easier for me to think about what I want to say and I don't have to guess what he/she thinks. The more comfortable I get with someone the more eye conctact I maintain. IT just gets easier to look at the other party when I know them better.

[msc545]

I like to look at the person's face and eyes when I'm listening. It helps me to understand what they're saying and their facial expressions often serve as punctuation. In other words, I am looking at non-verbal behavior as well as listening to the verbal presentation.

[Altheavas]

It’s easier to concentrate maintaining eye contact for me. Depends on the person, If my eye contacts bother them too much, It also distract me, and I might caught off eye contacts to concentrate better.

[mandyfire98]

Maintaining eye contact but I always have the weird struggle of choosing which eye to ultimately look in. Because I focus on one eye and only one eye when I talk to people. I don't know why.

[PeachyPie93]

When I was younger could not look at people in their eyes. Now I find I tend to listen better if I am looking at them rather then somewhere else.

[FunkyMonkee]

I think not looking at them helps me listen better because looking causes me to think of other things while they're talking and that distracts me from what they're saying.

[KrakenAttackin]

I need to maintain eye contact to keep focus, also I think it shows you are paying attention.

Having said that, if you are at your place if employment don't maintain eye contact for more than then five seconds or you end up in HR.

[Lisia]

I do a combination of both.. if I constantly stare in someone's eyes I'll start daydreaming

[leahzrc]

im too high to think about that usually and i just look at some to show i care

[boobliker]

depends on the speaker some are easier to close your eyes altogether others need eye contact full on.

[D3P0PowPow]

If I’m not looking at your, I’m probably thinking about sex or money or work, I have a short attention span.

[Samrasheihk]

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It’s easier to concentrate maintaining eye contact for me. Depends on the person, If my eye contacts bother them too much, It also distract me, and I might caught off eye contacts to concentrate better. yes

[Jerre]

I enjoy eye contact when listening to someone

[Jerre]

@Sonorous Thank you for the Like