Lisa F. Bohannon's "Is Your Body Language on Your Side?" portrays a classic example of how our nonverbal communication effects the impressions of people upon us. In the article, Jonathan Myers believes that he is well prepared for an important job interview, because he has practiced his answers to vital questions and his appearance is neat. However, once in the actual interview, he leaves a bad impression and does not get the job, because his body language depicts him as sloppy, uninterested, and insincere. This incident proves the importance of appropriate eye contact, vocal expression, posture, and facial expression not only in job interviews, but also in every other occurrence of formal or informal communication that we experience throughout our lives, especially in first impressions.
             Leathers defines eye contact as two people that are looking at each other but not specifically any one part of the body or face. What most people consider "eye contact" is what Leathers calls "eye-gaze." This is mutual eye contact where two people are directing their gazes at each other's eyes. In Bohannon's article, Jonathan leaves a bad impression on his interviewer in part by practicing "gaze omission," unintentional failure to make eye contact, and "gaze aversion," a movement of the eyes away from interaction with the other person (Leathers, 53). We know this because Bohannon says that his eyes "roamed the office," and "focused on the interviewer's nameplate." In this manner, Jonathan failed to establish the necessary connection with his interviewer, and made himself appear either nervous or inattentive.
             In a recent television interview, a close friend of mine made a dramatic impression through eye behavior. As he was being questioned, he not only avoided eye contact with the camera, but also failed to focus on any one particular point, instead his ey...