Day 3: Eye Contact. Your third day's assignment is to go visit the places you scouted out in Day 1 and make eye contact with everyone you can. Men, women, children, old people. If you're new to making eye contact, you'll find that this is harder than it sounds. Pay attention to how you feel making eye contact - does it feel awkward or uncomfortable? Do you feel growing social pressure as you hold eye contact with people? Watch your own reactions and those of the people whose eye contact you get and hold:
- Breaking eye contact by moving eyes down: a sign of submission and meekness
- Breaking eye contact by moving eyes to the side: a neutral eye contact break - neither submissive nor dismissive
- Breaking eye contact by moving eyes up: a sign of dismissiveness and impoliteness
Make and hold eye contact with at least ten (10) different people. See how long you can hold eye contact with each person for; if it feels awkward and they're close to you, you can defuse the tension with a simple smile and head nod toward them, or by smiling and saying, "Hi." Once you reach ten (10) people made eye contact with, see if you can do more. Your primary objectives here will be getting familiar with the different ways people respond to your eye contact, and increasing your ability to handle social pressure from others (in this case, others who are returning your eye contact).
