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January 5, 2004
You Lookin' At Me?
Have you ever met anyone who when they talk, never take their eyes off of you; ever? It’s daunting to say the least. Years ago at one of my first job interviews, the interviewer was like this. I was in her office for a total of thirty minutes probably and she never took her eyes off of mine. It was uncomfortable and very warm in there and I could hardly wait to leave. By the way, I did get the job. I know that it is considered good manners to keep eye contact, but isn’t there a time frame when there is too much eye contact?
I had a conversation with someone today which lasted for a total of fifteen minutes. She never took her eyes off of mine – not even for a second. This in turn, made me stare at her the entire time too because I didn’t want to seem rude. I guess when some people are starred at they tend to look in a different direction. As for me, I stare right back. It’s like I’m mesmerized or something. I have nothing to hide, it just feels creepy somehow.
If Kevin were to stare at me during conversation, I wouldn’t think a thing of it. If one of the kids did it I would be shocked, but it wouldn’t bother me. Other people, particularly strangers, are another matter entirely. It’s just something to think about.
Posted by tami at January 5, 2004 4:00 PM
Comments
I hate this too! I also need my personal space and get very uncomfortable when people come too close when I don't know them. The children at school have picked up on this and can frequently be heard to say "please remember, I need one metre of personal space!"
(Do you get the impression that if we had a cup of coffee and were face to face we could talk forever? Spooky.)
Posted by: Lynne at January 5, 2004 11:23 PM
Yes, we could talk forever while occasionally looking at the floor. Ha! Ha! :)
Posted by: Tami at January 6, 2004 8:10 AM
The staring thing bothers me, too. I like eye contact, but when it's unrelenting it makes me feel awkward. Don't you just want to cross your eyes, just to see what the person would do? Wicked grin.
Posted by: gw at January 11, 2004 10:09 PM
I always hate when someone is looking you over from head to toe when you are talking to them. How weird!
Posted by: Melanie at January 25, 2004 11:35 AM