QWERTY Observation #1

Improvisational dance is a conversation. It is an unedited flaws-and-all dialogue that permits vulnerability and honest exploration. It provides space for a certain sort of consciousness that makes us look inward without judgement. It is perhaps the most freeing of art forms: the use of the body to convey an idea, a feeling, an expression....raw.

QWERTY Observation #2

In terms of non-verbal communication, eye contact is probably the most significant and impactful. Humans of all cultures place value of some kind on the eyes. Eyes are windows to the soul...beauty is in the eye of the beholder...

In Western culture, we consider eye contact a signal of strength, a means of connection, initiation of challenge. It takes on the quality of masculinity and in turn gives credibility and the spoils of victory to whomever can hold the contact the longest. Lovers gaze into each other's eyes, opponents use eye contact for mind games, handshakes are sealed with locked eyes. In situations with power differentials, eye contact from the subordinate is not encouraged because eye contact elevates one's position. Averting one's gaze when confronted with a direct stare is read as a form of surrender.

Lies are often discovered when one feels the speaker did not meet eyes. It's been shown that we can't tell lies while maintaining eye contact and therefore, good liars can tell a fib and stare you in the face. Overall, while we value eye contact, there is often discomfort with direct eye contact. Perhaps this is because it intensifies, for good or bad, the conversation.

So, what happens when we communicate screen-to-screen rather than face-to-face? How do we know that "I love you" is sincere? That the agreement is sealed and transparent? That we're not being deceived? Do eyes lose the value humans have given them for thousands of years with technology's growing role in our communication? Between blinking cursors and LED displays, what becomes the "window to our souls"?

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