Eye Contact: One-On-Ones
Where to look during an interview, pitch, and one on one.
Nicole Wells
Eye contact, we all know we’re supposed to make it. But we get stuck in the weird dance
between looking at the back wall, a person’s forehead, and actually looking the person in the
eyes.
Next time you’re in an interview, pitching a client, or directly addressing someone in general, try
looking in only one eye at a time rather than into both. Weird? Nope, neuroscience.
Some experts say looking into to the left eye is a way of looking into someone’s more emotional
side because it’s connected to the right side of the brain, as opposed to the logical, left side of the
brain.
Focusing on only one eye will relax you, as it is impossible to look at both eyes at once. You just
need to look long enough to connect. Go for about five seconds, then you can look away.
According to researchers JK Burgoon & Coker, most people make eye contact 45 – 60% of the
time. Connect less and you are perceived as superficial and less credible.
NCBI and the National Institutes of Health found, “While viewing faces, human adults often
demonstrate a natural gaze bias towards the left visual field, that is, the right side of the
face is often inspected first and for longer periods.”
Writer Linda Cole adds: “When we meet another person, our gaze normally scans the right
side of their face (i.e. your visual left, their physical right).
It’s the left hemisphere of the brain that controls how we show emotion which is displayed
on the right side of our face. The left side of our face shows almost no emotion because the
right side of the brain has a different function and doesn’t control our emotional state of
mind.”
This shift in hemispheric processing could allow you to determine whether someone is reacting
to your words emotionally or following your logic.
It has been said that: the left eye is literally the window to the soul and the indicator of the
hidden, unmasked true self.
References:
Cole, Linda. “What is Left Gaze Bias? How Does It Relate to Dogs?” Canidae.com. 2009,
https://www.canidae.com/blog/2009/12/what-is-left-gaze-bias-how-does-it-relate-to-
dogs. Accessed 11 July 2017.
Guo, K., Meints, K., Hall, C. et al. “Left Gaze Bias in Humans, Rhesus Monkeys, and
Domestic Dogs.” 2009, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10071-008-
0199-3. Accessed 11 July 2017.
Henderson, William. “The Left Eye Secret.” ScienceofSoulmates.com. 2010,
http://www.scienceofsoulmates.com/The_power_of_the_left_eye.htm. Accessed 29 June
2017.
