It is important to know if people are interested in what you are saying; otherwise, you are just wasting your time.
Just imagine you are a chemistry teacher. You have always been interested in chemistry, so you assume that your students feel the same way as you do. But are they really interested? Are your teaching methods good enough to arouse their interest? Unless you can recognize the different body signals your students are conveying, you would never know how they are adapting to the subject matter. And unless you find out if staring continuously at you without blinking the eyes is a sign of interest or an indication of being in dreamland, you simply could not take the necessary steps to adjust to their learning needs.
Here are some of the movements exhibited by people who are interested in what you are saying:
• They maintain eye contact more than 60% of the time. The more wide-opened the eyes are, the more interested the person is. In fact, a person maintains eye contact more when listening than when talking.
• Their heads are inclined forward.
• They are nodding their heads. Such action means that they're agreeing with you. That means they're attentive and listening.
• Their feet are pointing towards you.
• They smile frequently. But take note, not all smiles convey the same feeling. An oblong smile is not genuine. It is used to show courtesy, but not necessarily happiness or friendliness. The lips are withheld completely back from the upper and lower teeth, forming the oblong shape. This is usually the smile that many people exhibit when they feign to enjoy a lame joke.
