Shakespeare famously said “the eyes are the window to your soul” and now that’s more true than ever before. The past six months our communication has been greatly limited by constantly wearing masks. In hospitality we can’t rely on smiles anymore so our words and body language take a bigger place in human connection. This is both a hinderance and an opportunity; masks make communicating a bit more difficult but it puts the focus back on an essential piece of human interaction: eye contact.

Have you noticed that it’s actually quite easy to convey so much with a look? With a a tilt of your head or the stance you take? That’s because 93% of what we communicate is through gesture, posture, intonation and pacing. Since we’re now wearing masks at work, and people cannot see our mouths and cheeks, this confines our conversations to eye contact, intonation and gesture. It’s important to empower your teams so they can communicate most effectively with their customers. Strategically utilizing eye contact is essential.

As you prepare to reopen your indoor dining rooms it’s important to let your teams know that eye contact is a skill to be utilized. Here’s 3 insights about eye contact that can help you deliver an enhanced customer experience:

1. Eye contact makes your words more memorable. A study was conducted that determined that 30% more eye contact results in a “significant increase” in others retaining what you say. This is impactful as you invite strangers into your restaurant; you need them to understand and then follow your rules. Try sharing any updates while maintaining eye contact with new guests and they will have a higher likelihood of retaining - and then following through with - your new protocols.

2. Eye contact makes you more empathetic. As reported in Psychology Today a Japanese study found that when we look directly into someone’s eyes this activates the limbic mirroring system. This means that both people are doing the same thing at the same time (both looking in the other’s eyes) and their brains are responding at the same time. This creates synchronicity and empathy in one another. Empathy is essential to a hospitable experience so have your teams practice maintaining eye contact with one another in your pre-shift meeting (and watch what happens!).

3. Eye contact increases self-awareness. Turns out, when people look at us, we become more self-aware of our own physical responses and how we’re perceived by others. This is essential in the era of COVID mask-wearing; we need our team members and guests to understand and feel the impact their actions have on the others in the room. Eye contact is a powerful tool in helping people to self-check during their indoor dining experience. Which will help them conduct themselves properly in your dining room and around your team. (Even just looking at pictures of eyes makes people more altruistic. Thinking of others is so important in our new safety-conscious environment.)

Help empower your team members to connect with your guests and with one another by using eye contact to their advantage (these hacks work in leadership too!). The effort is small but the payoff is big and it can help your team feel more confident and intelligent about engaging with your guests. Essential tools to utilize as you open your doors to the public, expanding your hospitality to as many guests as possible.