The Importance Of Eye Contact

Have you ever talked to someone who acted as if you totally didn’t exist and looked right through you or was completely distracted and continued to look the other way? As the receiver in a conversation with that person, you would probably feel disrespected and quickly lose interest and patience with them. So often public speakers treat their audiences the same way by making little to no attempt at connecting with their audience members’ eyes which actually conveys the same message as the example above.

Have you heard the saying, “The eyes are the window to the soul”? If you’re like me, you have been made aware of how important eye contact is when interacting with others but as a speaker having good eye contact is immeasurable. We know

We say a lot to people based on non-verbal communication such as our body language and facial expressions. Professional speakers know that good eye contact is one of the most powerful tools you have to build a connection with your audience and it is a very powerful means of expression both positively and negatively. Good eye contact can help you connect with your audience as it conveys a sense of intimacy to your verbal presentation. However, there are times when as a speaker your eye contact can come off as offensive or make the audience member(s) feel uncomfortable depending on the cultural setting, if the speaker is gazing, winking or staring at the audience.

Your eye contact has such a dramatic effect in improving your audience’s perception of you. Why? Because our eyes were made to connect and communicate with the eyes of other people and they typically reveal our thoughts and feelings. Take a moment to think about how expressive our eyes really are. You can learn so much by engaging your audience with proper eye contact. As you are verbally delivering your message, you watch your listeners’ eyes to determine whether or not they

The people in the front are easy targets, therefore, I advise speakers to aim to make contact with those in the middle or back that need to be drawn into the conversation more. These listeners will feel more included and won’t feel left out of your speech. Identify people in the front while you’re working your way from the back to the front. Be sure your eyes aren’t scanning the audience like a lawn sprinkler going back and forth and that your eyes are not focused on the clock in the back of the room, high above the audiences’ heads like our teachers used to tell us as a way of reducing stage fright. In my opinion, your audience will feel totally disconnected if you do that. This is a common mistake many beginner speakers make because they are nervous and fear rejection from the audience. (See August 2017 issue for tips to reduce nervousness while speaking)

3) Know your speech and do not rely solely on your notes. Do not read your speech verbatim glancing up every now and then. If you are reading your notes word for word to deliver your speech to your audience, in my experience, this is one of the quickest ways to disconnect and lose connection with them. By reading word for word your message you cannot increase the understanding of your message. As a listener in the audience, we want to feel spoken to in a direct and personal way not spoken at and/or