Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

If you want to be more approachable, you might try tilting your head slightly.  Psychologists at UC-Santa Cruz studied this phenomenon using eye tracking equipment.  They found that a head tilt of as little as 11 degrees makes your eyes less threatening.  Their studies show that the tilt makes your conversational companion focus only on the upper eye, and a single eye tends to be more inviting than both eyes. The researchers plan to extend their studies, and they have a particular interest in whether head-tilting will enhance communications with autistic persons.  If a family member or someone you know is autistic or on the spectrum or if you just want to try having smoother communications, try tilting your head just a tiny bit when speaking with them.  It might just aid in breaking a barrier. Vidcast: https://youtu.be/cGa4ob4THog Nicolas Davidenko, Hema Kopalle, Bruce Bridgeman. The Upper Eye Bias: Rotated Faces Draw Fixations to the Upper Eye. Perception, 2018; 030100661881962 DOI: 10.1177/0301006618819628