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Eye Contact Tutorial
Skillful eye contact is beneficial for the presenter and the listener. For the presenter, it allows you to rest your eyes on one person at a time. Since we all feel comfortable in one-one conversations, focusing on one person at a time calms us down. For the audience, eye contact allows greater engagement. They will feel more involved in your presentations, and will find it easier to listen to our message.
How:
- Sustain eye contact for 3-5 seconds per person, or one complete thought.
- Move your eyes from person to person deliberately, being careful to look at both sides of the room equally.
- Don't scan the room by briefly resting your eyes on everyone for a second. Slow your focus down.
- Use eye contact to have a "mini-conversation" with each person in your audience.
- With large groups, hold eye contact with general areas of the room, so that no-one feels left out.
Why:
- Expresses confidence and credibility.
- Shows interest and concern for the audience.
- Calms you down.
Practice Ideas:
- Place Post-Its© on a wall when you are practicing. Make sustained eye contact with each Post-It© for 5 seconds while practicing your speech.
- When you are conversing with friends or family, practice making eye contact for slightly longer than you normally would. Pay attention and see how it feels to hold eye contact.
Watch Out For:
- Blinking. Try to limit blinking by allowing your eyes to gently rest on each member of the audience.
- Individual differences. Be sensitive to people who are clearly avoiding your eye contact. It may be that cultural background does not value eye contact. Or that they might be shy. If you see that someone is uncomfortable with eye contact, back off.
- Playing favorites. We all have a tendency to look at those audience members who are nodding and smiling. Don't neglect your supporters, but remember to engage with everyone in your audience.