Ainulindale

Now days it's all about communication. Formal, informal, personal or non-personal. It's all about sharing the information we have to make the world smarter. We use non-personal communication more and more these days. There are no more chats in which you can actually see the listener's face. It's more soothing, for you do not have to face the person and it's feelings. However, face to face conversation has it's benefits. I prefer it more.
When you're speaking to someone face to face you can see what way does this person respond to what you are saying. More importantly, you can see the person's feelings when it speaks to you. You can see it in their movements whether the subject is comfortable or not.
When I listen to my friends I pay more attention to their "moves" than to what they are saying. Moves are very important in understanding the true concept of the subject. For instance...

Eye contact - the most important move. It also has different meanings, depending on the situation. In some cases, if a person speaking to you makes eye contact for just a second it can simply mean that they are checking if you are listening or not and you can "reply" that you are listening by catching that eye contact. In other cases it can express the talkers attempt to emphasize the importance of the info it is giving to you in that very moment and that is when you need to let them know that you are REALLY listening. Then there is that LONG contact that persists for quite a while. This, in most cases, tells you very little on how the person is feeling. But it can show you that this person is not shy, nor is it uncomfortable with the subject. It can have different meaning depending on other factors that come into play during this contact, but that is another thing (for another time). There are other meanings, but you'll have to figure them out for yourself. Keep in mind that it's meaning depends on the subject.
Other than eye contact there is the eye movement, which can tell you a great deal if read correctly. Have you noticed that sometimes people tend to look up and to the side when talking about something. This can mean several things. It can mean that the person talking is not comfortable with the subject and is rather annoyed by it. This is when it's best to change the subject. It can also mean that the person is making things up. It usually comes with a smile, but doesn't have to if a person is a good liar. Also, it can mean that the person is scanning it's memory for the necessary data on the subject. Depending on how the person's face expression changes during this scanning can tell you if the subject is appropriate or not. In other cases, people sometimes look down when talking. It's followed by a sad face. This is not good. It means that the subject of the conversation saddens the person. Then it's good to show compassion. You should then probably change the subject if the other person hasn't done so already. However, you could pursue the subject further with hope that you can comfort this person by giving it some advice, but it's extremely risky. It could lead to other person's depression.

When examining these movements you practice your empathy. It is also important to keep an eye on these moves when you are in the role of a speaker. The meaning of those moves, of course, changes, but are easily interpreted.