I must say the notion that "the eyes never lie" really is true. There is a lot I can learn from my co-workers, my bosses, and the teachers I am helping, by really looking at their eyes when I speak to them. Looking in their eyes can tell me wether or not they are really into what I am saying and wether or not I am connecting with them. I can remember being half way through a seminar on technology and making eye contact with some teachers and instantly realizing I never had their attention. I need to remember that concept as I go on with my work.
Rule number 6 is something I feel I am grasping. I really don't take myself too seriously, and I don't think I am in danger of doing so any time soon. I do know though that people in my department do take themselves way too seriously, and I can see that it hinders a lot of things in their work life and becomes a stumbling block to success. I know that personally I have a hard time respecting leaders that are unnecessarily serious about themselves. I know it's not right to disrespect leaders and I would never do anything outright against them, but internally I loose a little bit of admiration when I see a leader being very serious about themselves all the time.
The concept of leading from your chair so to speak is something that I don't give enough credit. I know that there is truth to the concept that if you do the best with the position and resources you are given you will be successful. Sometimes it is hard to believe that when you don't feel that things could possibly get better. I know that I have to remind myself of that concept often even though I feel that what I have right now doesn't add up to very much.
Your thoughts are so true with looking at people. I myself am very aware of this and can tell just by looking at people if they are really listening and getting what I am saying. Just because someone might be looking at you when you speak doesn’t mean they are really hearing what you are saying.
ReplyDeleteMaking eye contact with someone you are conversing with is vital in letting them know that you are fully engaged in the conversation. While in undergrad I liked to sit in the middle of the classroom. Not because I didn't want to be easily noticed but because I noticed that most of my teachers tended to focus on this section of the class while lecturing. I felt that if I sat there while they swept the room with their eyes they would notice the eye contact from me an feel reassured that somebody was paying attention.
ReplyDeleteSince I have not finished my read on 5-8, I have been hesitant to comment on most other peer’s post except where it speaks to something that caught my eye that may not give away the “fun”of the reading (It really is good stuff)
ReplyDeleteRegarding must say the notion that "the eyes never lie”… I have noticed the fact over a long period of time that I have never as a habit looked most people in the eye when I speak to them (at least not by habit, anyway). If I am interested enough to talk to them at all, typically I am focused in on the words and their meaning, but I learned the importance of this in practice much later in life than many young men and still find myself (ironically enough) trying to explain the concept to a teen with special needs to looking others in their eyes when speaking to them.
Don’t get me wrong, this is a great practice to follow; but Sometimes, (emphasis on “sometimes”) you can have their attention and not see their eyeballs
JCIII
I cannot agree more with the eye's never lie statement. I can tell right away if my students are getting what I am saying or not. If not they have this glazed over look or I am bored body language. If I have their attention then I can sometimes see there eyes watching what I am doing or their body language is such that I can tell they are engaged. You really have to know your students in order for the reading the body language to work.
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