The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 3 plus 7 letter word EYE CONTACT
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
E
Y
E
C
O
N
T
A
C
T
More clues leading to the result EYE CONTACT
- Big wheel in London to call meeting of viewers
- First person, we hear, against diplomatic work has direct observation?
- Method when grilling star on air with discretion
- This should keep viewers in touch
- Recording of iPhone perhaps that’s shared between two viewers
- Not looking away once, yet failing to work
- First person in hearing with business acquaintance giving direct look
- I loudly call for sign you’re paying attention
- Detective with careful approach securing prisoner’s appearance of trust?
- 30
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "direct observation" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case direct observation = eye contact.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.