When I was growing up, eye contact was always difficult for me; it felt awkward and, sometimes, even creepy to stare into a stranger’s eyes. As a competitive tennis player, I still remember my coach imploring me to make eye contact, because it communicates a certain level of respect and commitment. When I failed to make eye contact, I was inadvertently communicating a lack of interest and focus.
Now as a presenter, I know eye contact is even more important to my success. If I fail to make eye contact with my audience, I’m conveying that I’m not interested or focused, just like when I competed on the court. And how can I expect my audience to pay attention to my message if I don’t show that I’m engaged in the moment?
Scan the room.
As presenters, we can easily fall into what we call the “comfort zone” trap, which is when a presenter stares at a single part of the room or a single person because they feel most comfortable with that. When we fall into this trap, we are subsequently failing to maintain eye contact with the rest of the room. It is important that we learn to scan the room, look around, and connect with everyone in the audience.
Depending on your audience size, you might be unable to actually make eye contact with each individual person, but by scanning the room, every person in the audience will feel like you have made eye contact with them.
Keep it prolonged.
As we get comfortable with scanning the room, it can lead us to another trap where we never maintain prolonged eye contact. Now this may seem like I am contradicting what I just said, but prolonged eye contact does not mean staring; all it means is pausing to connect with each section. For me, this can be the most difficult part of keeping eye contact, so I have found a simple formula to help myself better accomplish prolonged eye contact.
I start by splitting the room into 4 sections in my head. After I have divided up the room, I start at one side and spend 5 seconds maintaining eye contact and then move over to another section. I use the divisions as a check in my head to ensure I make eye contact with the entire room as well as a way to figure out where I have a tendency of getting stuck.
Follow the cameras.
In the past, this trick would only apply to people delivering large keynotes that are equipped with Imag. However, in today’s digital world, even presenters with a small audience could easily find themselves in front of a camera during an ordinary presentation. This is why every presenter must learn to not just be comfortable in front of a camera but to utilize the camera to make eye contact and engage their full audience. A mentor of mine used to say “If you make eye contact with the camera, you are making eye contact with the whole room.”
As a presenter, you must learn to follow the cameras and continue to make eye contact with the camera that is live. Make sure to work with the camera operators ahead of time to understand the best way for you to ensure you are making great eye contact with them. Not only will you make great eye contact with the audience, but your presentation will look better on video and make you friends in the video department.
Eye contact is crucial. It communicates to your audience that you care about what you have to say, and because of that, they should care too. By implementing these 3 tricks, you will not only be able to use eye contact more effectively, but you will also set yourself apart as a great presenter.
Interested in learning more tips to elevate your presentation game? Check out the Presentation Mentor online course today.
