Reduce Workplace Stress By Seeing People in a New Way
by John Townsend ~ April 14th, 2011. Tags: eye contact, looking at people, seeing potential, staff motivation Filed under: People Management, Stress Management.
Life-long lovers often begin their romance with a look. Hollywood has launched movie romances with two people gazing lovingly into each others eyes. Such a gaze often has physical effects on the pupil of the eye, not to mention brain and body chemistry.
Now I’m not suggesting that you should look at your clients or staff like this but rather that you recognise that everybody wants to be seen. How do you feel when you enter a store or business and you are made to wait for a long time without recognition? You soon feel that you’ve become invisible because the staff don’t bother to look at you.
It’s quite natural to feel hurt and stressed. You won’t return to that business in the future. Imagine the impact on your staff if you simply pass them each day with little recognition.
“I found that when I took care of customers extremely well“, wrote Stanley Marcus, former Chairman of Nieman—Marcus, one of the world’s most successful Department Stores. “and made them a focal point, profit inevitably followed from that.”
Look at your clients. Look at your staff. Look into their eyes. Remember that when you gaze into their eyes you are looking through a window that leads directly to the brain. Make them feel special and worthy of your undivided attention. They’ll be impressed.
If you find it too terrifying to look directly into their eyes then focus on the tip of their nose. They’ll think you’re looking at their eyes and as you benefit from their positive responses your confidence will increase and direct eye contact won’t be so forbidding.
As you look at your associates and workmates, don’t see their faults, but see their awesome uniqueness. Look with a sense of wonder because the person in your line of vision is unique. You could search the whole world and not find another person exactly the same.
Our uniqueness is our special gift to the world. Work on extending their skills and finding ways to help them contribute further to the organisation while minimising difficulties and problems.
You’ll be rewarded not only with improved performance but also loyalty and a real shine in their eyes.
Additional Reading:
Mutual Courtesy and Making Eye Contact
The Behavior Exchange: Making Eye Contact
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