Eye contact conveys powerful messages

ARussian poet who was visiting a wealthy American in his home noticed a huge, magnificent moose head mounted on the wall. He asked his host how he could shoot such an impressive animal.

“It was easy,” the American said. “He didn’t look me in the eye. If he had looked me in the eye, I couldn’t have shot him.”

My good friend Nido Qubein, president of High Point University, told this story to illustrate the power of establishing eye contact.

“When you look people in the eye, they become more than passing acquaintances. They become people with whom you interact, if only briefly.” Qubein added: “When speaking to anyone, whether it’s your mother or an audience of thousands, try to establish eye contact. If you don’t, your listeners may tune you out.” Numerous studies conducted over the years have confirmed that eye contact plays an important role in both verbal and nonverbal communication. A person can communicate with their eyes and never say a word.

The development was a reversal from last month, when Spirit said that after speaking with financial and legal advisers, its directors believed Jetblue’s offer could reasonably turn out to be the better of the two deals.

Spirit said its board continues to back the bid made by Frontier in February and views it as the best way to maximize value. The airline anticipates a deal with Frontier closing in the second half of the year.

The Jetblue-american cooperative venture in Boston and New York, called the Northeast Alliance or NEA, was opposed by Spirit and other competitors long before Frontier’s February bid to buy Spirit.

Jetblue tried to satisfy regulatory concerns by offering to divest Spirit’s airport gates and takeoff and landing slots in New York and Boston and maybe in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. However, Spirit’s board said Monday that the revised offer is unlikely to appease regulators because the revised offer still “makes clear that Jetblue is unwilling to terminate” the partnership with American.