(Bk Business) Carol Kinsey Goman Ph.D.-The Nonverbal Advantage_ Secrets and Science of Body Language at Work -Berrett-Koehler Publishers (2008)

Chapter 3: The Eyes Have It
51
Catching all these fleeting eye signals takes practice, but
by simply observing more closely you will know whether
someone most typically thinks in pictures, words, or feelings.
Remember, though, not all right-handed people display
these same patterns. The trick is to get to know an individual’s
eye cues so that you interpret them accurately. With this
knowledge you can (as I did in my counseling practice) literally
speak their language: “Look at it from this perspective,”
“Does this sound good to you?” or “What do you feel is the
right thing to do?” You’ll also have a glimpse into whether
someone is recalling something she’s actually seen (eyes up
and to the left) or if she is visualizing an imagined or madeup
scene (eyes up and to the right).
Business Gaze and Social Gaze
An attractive manager was having problems dealing with the
male employees in her department. “They never take me seriously,”
she complained. “It’s as though they think I’m flirting
with them. Which I definitely am not!”
After watching her interact with members of her staff,
I saw the problem. She was trying to discuss work-related
issues while using a social gaze.
Here’s what I mean: If you create an imaginary triangle,
with the eyes at the base and the apex at midforehead, you
have mapped out the “look of business”—the business gaze.
When you keep your gaze in that area, you nonverbally signal
a no-nonsense, businesslike approach.
When you invert the triangle and move your focus from
the eyes to the mouth, you turn your gaze into one more
appropriate for social encounters. And a social gaze can be
misinterpreted as flirtatious—even in a business setting.