There are two purposes of eye contact in the United States getting someone's attention and showing that you are listening to the speaker Using ere contact is a way of getting someone 's attention in a public place You can use this to get the attention of waiter or waitress in a busy restaurant an usher in the theater or a server at a store.The technique is to locate the person you want, watch him or her carefully,and as soon as the person turns in your direction, look directly in his or her eves.That waiter will come over to you. THE usher will show you your seat.The server will take your money.
Using eye contact is also important in North America to show a speaker that you are paying attention. The general American rule for conversational eye contact is to look at the speaker's eyes the entire time her or she is speaker I'm listening to you. If you look away even for a few seconds,the speaker may think that you are bored.