What Is Eye Contact Meaning?

28.01.2023

If it comes to the definition of eye contact, it is important to know that it is a way of holding a look in the direction of the eyes of another person. In other words, you look directly into the eyes of your partner either intentionally or unintentionally, consciously or subconsciously. There are various levels of eye contact. We are going to investigate each of them as well as their meaning of them. 

Why is eye contact so important?

Some people might just glance at you and take their eyes away from you while others would stare at you for hours. Some even would not dare look at you. What do these kinds of behavior mean? Also, it is important to know the power of eye contact because it influences the way you feel when you are next to a certain person with who you want to examine eye contact intensity. 

If you are interested ¨What does it mean when a guy holds eye contact?¨, you are not alone and have a right to get a clear answer to your question. Some people also ask about the no eye contact meaning. The point of this guide is to define why eye contact is essential to build strong and healthy relationships and what making eye contact means.

Reasons to have eye contact during communication

1. You are in tune with others.

According to the study, when people look directly into other people´s eyes, the limbic mirror system of their partner´s brains gets activated. So the neurons that fire in your head begin to fire in your partner´s head. Therefore, they are going to feel the same as you do.

1. Proves honesty.

Maintaining eye contact tells that you are telling the truth so can look directly into the eyes of another person. It helps build trust between you and has awesome relationships. If guess ¨What does lack of eye contact mean?¨, it means a lack of trust and a red flag for you in further communication. 

1. You can read the intentions of others.

Research has shown that eye contact might help you to forecast the tactics of others. You will be able to predict the potential manipulations and avoid them. Resistance to persuasion is a great advantage of holding eye contact. You would better keep that in mind and maintain eye contact during the negotiations or when you are on the job interview, etc.

1. Better understanding.

When people have eye contact, they tend to concentrate on the conversation more and read facial expressions. It helps achieve better understanding and grab more information and remember it long after the dialogue. The more you look at your partner´s eyes, the more you memorize. 

1. More respect.

According to Erin Eratough, when you look into the eyes of other people, it means that you treat them as important. You build respect between you maintaining long eye contact. So if you want to make someone feel special, you would better look into their eyes when you talk. 

Definition of eye contact: different levels

If you want to define eye contact, you should start with the level of intensity it had. For example, your partner might not look at you at all, looked at you from time to time, gazed at you, or stared at you so that you were stressed after that. These are various levels of eye contact and we are going to discuss the meaning of each of them. Let´s do it!

Level 1. No eye contact meaning.

Here to those who want to know ¨What does no eye contact mean?¨ First of all, poor eye contact is meaning that a person lies to you. There is no need to have fantasies and dreams that he or she might only be too shy or scared or secretly want you but just hide that. No. Stop thinking this way. Stop wondering ¨What does poor eye contact mean?¨ and face the truth. Psychologists agree that it is only a clear sign that they deceive you. Watch out when someone does not look into your eyes in your business and stay away from guys or girls who do not look into your eyes. 

Level 2. Eye-to-eye contact meaning.

Does eye contact mean attraction? Yes, it does if a person looks directly into your eyes. Eyes are the windows of the soul, right? Direct eye contact meaning is that a person likes you and is getting more and more intimate with you. He or she is ready to reveal to you all their secrets and soul. If you are alone with a person and they look into your eyes, it means that they have already observed everything else and are ready to move on in your relationship. It is a good sign if a guy looks into a girl´s eyes. It means that his intentions are serious. 

Level 3. Intense eye contact meaning.

So what does intense eye contact mean? When a person looks into your eyes intensely, it means that they are interested in you more than just a friend. They would like to build relationships with you and cannot take their eyes away from you. They like you but maybe, are just not ready to move on. Sometimes, a guy might give a few intense glances at a girl that would make her look down and feel shy. Such intense looks mean that he or she is extremely interested in you as a personality and waiting for further development of your relationship. 

Level 4. Long eye contact with a guy means.

What does long eye contact mean? That´s a good question. If an intense look means that a person is interested but is not ready to move on, long eye contact means that that person sees no obstacles between you that might not let you be with each other. The long eye contact with a guy is meaning that he wants to date a girl and like the way she looks, but needs to think it over in their head. According to John Gray, the author of the book ¨Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus¨, when a man likes a girl but needs to think it over, he gets into a cave and stays there until the solution is found. This is how he deals with his feelings at this step. So long eye contact is a great sign for relationships, but it does not mean that this is the ideal time to start them.  

Level 5. Prolonged eye contact meaning. 

This is a look that a guy gives to a girl when he has already realized that she is the one for him and he is ready to move forward. At this point, he is confident about himself, he is not awkward or shy. He or she is not scared of the future or any potential obstacles. Usually, a great example of prolonged eye contact is during the wedding ceremony at the altar when a couple gives vows to each other or when a man proposes to a girl. Prolonged eye contact means that a person has made important decisions and is responsible for them. If your friend gives you a prolonged eye look and you feel butterflies in your stomach when you are with him, the eye contact meaning along with body language will reveal that you are in love. 

How to hold eye contact effectively:

• Do not just stare, but look from time to time.

There is no need to concentrate on someone. All you need to do is to switch your focus from the eye of a partner to some other object from time to time. Do not do it frequently but make intervals of a certain duration. 

• Look at the person 50% of the time while you are speaking.

Spend half of the time watching directly into a person´s eyes. It might be tricky to do at first, but soon you will acquire a skill of how to do it right. 

• When you listen to a partner, spend 70% of your time looking at them.

Listening skills are a must to be developed. Spend the vast majority of the time you listen looking into the eyes of a person, but do not look at a person all the time without saying anything because it might be intimidating. 

• Focus on the eyes of a person for 4-5 seconds each time you look at them.

It is necessary to hold your eyes on a personÅ› eyes for several seconds, not more because they might get afraid of your intense look. 

FAQs:

• What does it mean when someone makes eye contact with you?

When someone makes eye contact with you, it means that he or she does not lie to you and their intentions for you are serious. They are not going to deceive you and, no matter what, they want to remain sincere with you. It is a good sign when someone makes eye contact with you first. It means they are going to open up and lead you.

• What does not making eye contact mean?

It is rather suspicious when a person does not make eye contact. It might be a red flag not to ignore warnings about further problems with that person. Maybe, they are hiding something, perhaps, they are lying, or maybe, they just cannot stand you and want to hide their negative attitude toward you. In any case, no eye contact is a bad signal. Therefore, you should not expect to get hired if you do not have eye contact with your HR manager. 

• Does eye contact always mean attraction?

No, eye contact does not always mean attraction. Sometimes, it is just a sign that a person trusts you and is ready to open up about what is going on inside of their head and heart. If a person looks into your eyes, it does not necessarily mean that they are head over the heels with you, so watch out not to fall in love with them back unexpectedly. 

Final thoughts

To sum up, maintaining eye contact is a real art. The skill to hold eye contact is essential in every business and romantic relationship. You are going to be very successful if you manage to establish strong eye contact during the first minutes of the conversation. Also, people will stop manipulating you when you can ¨read¨ their eyes and facial expression.