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Old 05-31-2019, 05:13 PM
 
27 posts, read 21,828 times
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What do you think is the proper way to interact with strangers? I sometimes look at people and im pretty neutral in my face expression and other people get submissive around me


Do you look at everyone in their eyes as you walk by them or would you ignore them?
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Old 05-31-2019, 05:27 PM
 
Location: State of Transition
102,055 posts, read 106,836,948 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ConfusedGuy777 View Post
What do you think is the proper way to interact with strangers? I sometimes look at people and im pretty neutral in my face expression and other people get submissive around me


Do you look at everyone in their eyes as you walk by them or would you ignore them?
I'm not sure what you're referring to, OP. Why would you look strangers in the eyes as they walk past? Do they look you in the eyes? Do you people-watch as you walk down the street? I'm often oblivious to the people around me, when I'm walking, lol. I'm often thinking about other things. Or if it's a crowded sidewalk, I may be focussed on weaving through the crowd, toward my goal.

This will be an interesting thread to see what people do as they walk. I suppose, if I were walking in my neighborhood and saw a neighbor outside, I'd look at them, smile and say hello. Otherwise, I might be looking at scenery, store windows, or working out a problem in my mind, not really looking at anything.
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Old 06-02-2019, 12:26 AM
 
Location: Tomsk, Russian Federation
427 posts, read 240,855 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth View Post
I'm not sure what you're referring to, OP. Why would you look strangers in the eyes as they walk past? Do they look you in the eyes? Do you people-watch as you walk down the street? I'm often oblivious to the people around me, when I'm walking, lol. I'm often thinking about other things. Or if it's a crowded sidewalk, I may be focussed on weaving through the crowd, toward my goal.

This will be an interesting thread to see what people do as they walk. I suppose, if I were walking in my neighborhood and saw a neighbor outside, I'd look at them, smile and say hello. Otherwise, I might be looking at scenery, store windows, or working out a problem in my mind, not really looking at anything.
If I'm walking past a singular person on the sidewalk, I'll generally flash them a smile and nothing else, but I dread the moment they say good morning or anything like that. Makes me Uber uncomfortable. Even smiling at everyone makes me uncomfortable
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Old 06-02-2019, 06:39 AM
 
7,568 posts, read 4,109,735 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ConfusedGuy777 View Post
What do you think is the proper way to interact with strangers? I sometimes look at people and im pretty neutral in my face expression and other people get submissive around me


Do you look at everyone in their eyes as you walk by them or would you ignore them?
No, I don't look everyone in the eyes as I walk by because I scan them from a distance to make sure they don't look angry. If I make eye contact, it is accidental or because we have to interact.
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Old 06-02-2019, 11:27 AM
 
Location: Southwest Washington State
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I do not look passerbys in the eyes. I might scan their faces briefly. But I am female.

I do not think it is necessary to make eye contact with people you have no desire to interact with.
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Old 06-02-2019, 01:06 PM
 
Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
26,678 posts, read 41,509,172 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ConfusedGuy777 View Post
What do you think is the proper way to interact with strangers? I sometimes look at people and im pretty neutral in my face expression and other people get submissive around me


Do you look at everyone in their eyes as you walk by them or would you ignore them?
If I don’t have to interact with them I don’t. I don’t look anyone in the eye to even tempt them to start a conversation I don’t want to have in the first place.
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Old 06-02-2019, 02:01 PM
 
Location: a little corner of a very big universe
845 posts, read 700,181 times
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I am a middle-aged woman. I try to ignore passersby to the greatest extent possible. If they say hello, I'll smile and say hello, too, commonly with brief eye contact. I do, on occasion, initiate, if, for example, I am potentially in their way or they have a cute dog. Even then, eye contact is fleeting. The only time it's slightly prolonged is if we get into an actual conversation, or if we've said hello often enough in the past to recognize each other, even if we don't know each other's name.
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Old 06-02-2019, 04:47 PM
 
327 posts, read 447,682 times
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I struggle with eye contact. I'm a middle aged man who's probably an introvert. Generally I don't make eye contact with strangers, and I don't make as much eye contact as considered ideal even with the many people I know and work with. We talk, I just don't stare at them much.
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Old 06-02-2019, 05:00 PM
 
Location: State of Transition
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I think many people regard it to be an aggressive act, to look strangers in the eyes. When I think about it, I realize, that usually if this happens by accident, both parties smile, as an indication that they meant no harm, and go on their way. I think studies have been done about this. OP, maybe people get submissive around you, because you're not supposed to be challenging them, by looking them in the eyes.
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Old 06-02-2019, 05:10 PM
 
4,985 posts, read 3,912,666 times
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"Do you look at everyone in their eyes as you walk by them or would you ignore them?"
not exactly....i do look at their face,
and, if they look at my eyes at the same time,
i nod and smile.
drives my wife nuts.
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