I don't like noticing people looking at my lips when I'm talking. I know they're probably not being sexual, but that's where I've gone when I'm staring at someone's mouth. If they're talking to me, I watch the eyes. If this bothers them, they can break off mutual contact, but I will still keep staring there.

Too much intimate contact makes me uncomfortable, whether it's touching or hugging or staring at my eyes. In fact, now that I think about, I'm actually more comfortable with touches (on the arms or back) and hugging than I am with prolonged eye contact or invasive physical stance. I have a tolerance threshold there, too, of course, but it still doesn't set off the same alarm bells in my lizard brain. Too much physical contact is more an "okay, enough" reaction than a want-to-get-away reaction. I had a girlfriend who would get really upset with me because I didn't look at her enough while she was talking to me. She thought it meant I wasn't paying attention to her. (In my defense, she did chatter a lot about nothing.) I wasn't making the "I'm paying attention" sounds she was expecting, either. (Grunts and pant-hoots, maybe? I don't know.) I watch people's faces, but I get more information from the whole face, the whole body even, than just the eyes. (Including helping me understand what they're saying.) If I feel like I need to pay particular attention to someone, I'll watch them more as they speak, but I still don't stare right at them. I guess I have that primate "direct stare is threatening" reaction. I don't stare at someone without taking my eyes off them at all unless I'm angry at them or I'm feeling threatened by them in some way.

This is fascinating, really, the different ways everyone reacts.

So what is a quick, easy way to create a legal electronic signature? Another user over on Yahoo!Answers has CC&Ped one of my stock answers and posted it lock, stock and barrel, so I'm filing a complaint with Yahoo! but they have several hoops to jump through, including either a physical signature or an electronic one.

Happy Birthday, vw!!!

The eye contact dilemma is something I think about a lot when I am out by myself, walking the dog or on my way somewhere. the streets around here are not generally thronged with pedestrians, so when I see that I am going to cross paths with someone I have time to worry about whether I should make eye contact or not, do I say "hi", will that be friendly or invasive and threatening? I'm not terribly attached to making eye contact or not in most situations, so I'm all about the other person's comfort and it's easy to get wrong in those fleeting meetings.

I think I give the impression of making eye contact when I am actually not really looking at anything but concentrating very hard so I can follow what someone is saying - my eyes are not really focused but they're probably pointed at the speaker's face and maybe eyes.

Happy birthday, VW!!!!!!

I'm a Midwesterner; I smile and move on. Most people smile back.

If I'm in a bad mood, no contact. Really bad mood, and I can't stand the IDEA of people, and I stay home.

When I use the term "eye contact," I think that I'm more talking about "face contact," at least from a distance. I think that I look into someone's eyes at the beginning, and then back off and look at their face as a whole. Although I probably do look into eyes more than most just because of my retail background, when I found it useful to handselling books and chatting with customers.

I know so many people who always remember someone's eye color, but I very rarely remember that aspect of someone's face, for some reason. Eyes have to be really outstanding for me to notice their color (Paul Newman baby blues, Karl Urban's gorgeous browns).

From way back: I don't think having a service heart and wanting some appreciation or at least to know you're doing some good are mutually exclusive. That's a pretty human motivation. Ideally and theoretically, service for its own sake, yes; practically, I will always enjoy a thank you.

Me, too, Kathy. Both the retail training and the eye color not noticing.

Andi, reply to them for suggestions and guidelines for an electronic signature they will accept.