Closing eyes

[coccinelle]

I have noticed two people in my circle of friends, both women, who close their eyes when they talk to people. Not all the time, but all of a sudden their eyes close for about 6 or 7 seconds and it makes me feel uncomfortable. Does anybody else know people who do this and why they do it? I mean for all that time they can't see who they're talking to and quite honestly that would unnerve me.

[squarebear]

I would use that time to sneak away and watch their reaction!

[joggerjayne]

Bit of dust?

[Twangalot]

Ok i see several scenarios.

1- You may be boring them and sending them to sleep.
2-They concentrate more when their eyes are closed which is tricky if they drive.
3-they suffer from a mild form of narcolepsy.

[Twangalot]

Pussy does this happen at a nightclub after he has ingested several pills?

[Twangalot]

Seriously coccinelle and pusyy, these facial gestures may be a non verbal physical form of tourettes or stuttering. Just a guess.

[coccinelle]

They shut their eyes when they're talking, not when people talk to them.

[jno]

maybe they're just trying to think of the right words or phrases and closing their eyes so as not to be distracted? I do that for a second or so sometimes, though 6-7 seconds seems rather long.

[Ankou]

perhaps they have a little script written on the back of their eyelids that they read out loud in conversation.

do you find they repeat themselves a lot ? thats a sure sign of eyelidscriptinitus

[coccinelle]

What I'm surprised about is that nobody else on here seems to know anybody who does this and I know of two poeple. Come to think of it, they're bilingual so could that have something to do with it? I know many people who are bilingual who don't do this but these two do. It might be a concentration thing.

[Booldawg]

I have seen people do this from time to time. I think its a sign of someone not being a confident communicator and pausing to collect their thoughts and to mentally construct their next sentence. The closing eyes bit shuts down the need to utilise their sense of sight in an attempt to focus on the conversation they are having.

[Katie~77]

I had a teacher in junior school who did this. She was a nasty piece of work!!x

[coccinelle]

Glad to hear that other people have come across this. I wonder what's really the cause of it and when these people started to do it.

[whiskeryron]

Reading this thread it's just occured to me, when anyone sneezes their eyes automatically close, does anyone think that the people mentioned who close their eyes when talking can't help it & it is an automatic reflex ?