3. (1) Eye contact, also referred to as gaze, is how and how much we look at people with whom we are communicating. (2) By maintaining our eye contact, we can tell when or whether people are paying attention to us, when people are involved in what we are saying, and whether what we are saying is eliciting feelings. (3) The amount of eye contact differs from person to person and from situation to situation. (4) Studies show that talkers hold eye contact about 40 percent of the time and listeners nearly 70 percent of the time. (5) We generally maintain better eye contact when we are discussing topics with which we are comfortable, when we are genuinely interested in a person’s comments or reactions, or when we are trying to influence the other person. (6) On the other hand, we tend to avoid eye contact when we are discussing topics that make us uncomfortable, when we lack interest in the topic or person, or when we are embarrassed, ashamed, or trying to hide something.
The primary purpose of this passage is to
a. inform.
b. persuade.
c. entertain.