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Look Them in the Eye
One thing I have been drilling into my children since they were old
enough to talk is that when someone speaks to you, you answer the
person clearly, and you look him or her right in the eye.
There is nothing that communicates to someone else that they have your
attention more than that one gesture. I have run into many adults
in both the professional arena and out in the community who look off to
the side or down at their feet when I speak to them. Why is it we
are so uncomfortable with looking another in the eye when we speak to
them? Is it that our eyes, once called “The Windows of the Soul,”
would reveal what we are really thinking? Or is it that we’ve
been raised to favor our insecurities instead of dealing with them head
on?
I have a child who is naturally shy, and as he grows it becomes even
more apparent. All the more reason, I believe, to provide
opportunities for him to interact with adults, facing them straight on
as he struggles to carry on a conversation. Will he be the better
for it? I am certain he will, for through this practice he will
gain the confidence he needs to speak with those he doesn’t know in a
manner which warrants respect. And when he’s in college or on the
job, you won’t find him looking beyond you as you speak to him, but
rather looking you right in the eyes.
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