MIKE LIPKIN
Please look at me because eye contact makes you real and likable
Sawubona. This is the Zulu greeting for “hello†from my native South Africa. But the literal translation of Sawubona means ‘I see you’ and the response, ‘Ngikhona’ means ‘I am here’. Inherent in the Zulu greeting and our grateful response, is the sense that until you saw me, I didn’t exist. By recognizing me, you brought me into existence. A Zulu proverb clarifies this, “Umuntu ngumuntu nagabantuâ€, meaning, “A person is a person because of other peopleâ€.
So think about this: when you make eye contact with other people, you bring them into existence. You connect them to the world that you represent. By looking directly at people, you acknowledge their presence and make them real. Without that connection, they may feel isolated and even disoriented.