Looking into other people eyes

[Little Lady]

Do you find this uncomfortable if you do this for more than a few seconds? I find i can only do this to collegues for a certain amount of time till i glance away then look again how odd. Though i can do this with partners for an age. Is this to do with your relationship with that person do you think?

[netibiza]

I cannot look into peoples eyes - maybe I'm shifty or something but I feel really uncomfortable doing it.

[milly143]

I'm exactly the same, have to break eye contact after a few seconds but then never really know where to look.

[secretsquiz]

i'm terrible with eye contact as well - maybe that's why we're all here!

[evertonsue]

Yeah same here, when someone talks to me I look at their mouth, if I look up at their eyes I find it uncomfortable, can only last 2 seconds max! How odd!

[Octavius]

I am one of those people that waits until the other person looks away!

[KittyGlitter]

~waves hands mysteriously~ look into my eyes, not around the eyes, the eyes, the eyes, not around the eyes, don't look around the eyes, look into my eyes...

sorry that was my Little Britain impression. I'll get me coat ;-)

[Scarlett]

I am happy to look at people's eyes- but if I look- and I mean REALLY look, and study their actual eyes, I can't do that for long, as it just becomes too intense!!! And it may look like you fancy them or something- brrrr!!

[GucciGal]

I can look a female peer in the eye but not a man's. I blush!

[Wispy68]

I'm the same, but have always put it down to shyness or a lack of confidence. It's getting slightly better with age, though!

[MargeB]

In a pickle, I always found that a very intimate gesture. Try doing it to someone on a bus, see what happens

[Kay]

Maybe Im odd as I feel I must keep eye contact when Im speaking to someone. I never used to do it as I was very shy and uptight. I feel that I listen better with good eye contact,strange eh?

[shaz-rla]

I find the older I get the more confident and outgoing I am getting!  If someone doesn't hold my gaze when we are talking and keep looking away I think they are trying to hide something!

[MissCommando]

I don't "do" eye contact  lol.  Infact, I can't abide it, if someone looks into my eyes, I feel so embarrassed and want to laugh, I have to look at the floor or whatever and nod my head so they know I am actually listening.  I know a lot of people think it's rude to look away or whatever but I just can't do it - I have to look away

[angel1978]

I always feel a bit awkward because I have a hearing problem.

Nothing major but it helps me to look at someone when they're talking to me and if I'm trying to figure out if they're talking to me.  Tend to look at their lips a lot which is probably even worse!!!

Get quite self conscious esp in situations such as an exercise class where it's one person talking and I feel like I'm just staring at them.  Usually try and say something afterwards so they know I'm not just some wierdo.

Do like eye contact though but not if I think it'll make people uncomfortable.  See it as a sign of trust and helps me pick up a lot more than what's just being said to me.

[themodgrover]

The eyes are the window to the soul. Some cultures dislike you looking into someones eyes for too long because its like you're staring right into them. (think its in sth america, though i could be wrong)

So i'd say dont worry about it. Maybe your a nervous sort and you'll stop being reluctant to when you get more confidence. Thats what happened to me.

[nicola_red]

I'm another one who has trouble with eye contact, unless it's someone I know very well.  I've been thought shy because of it when in fact I'm the opposite.  I have to force myself to do it at work.

[ermintrude35]

..I used to be a dental nurse...so I always look at peoples teeth first when I'm talking to them...I work in retail now ,so meet a lot of people every day, I  tend to hold eye contact with my work coleagues(hardly ever with customers), but only for a short while...

[Aschenbach]

I don't have a problem looking into other people's eyes and can tell which people find it hard to maintain eye contact and sometimes feel a subliminal psychological advantage. You definitely have to be comfortable being looked at yourself first. Maybe you are uninhibited with people you know intimately.

[tgon]

Agrees with themodgrover.  Eyes tell the truth - both ways.