From the course: Delivery Tips for Speaking in Public

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Make intentional eye contact

Make intentional eye contact

From the course: Delivery Tips for Speaking in Public

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Make intentional eye contact

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- As a speaker, you don't want your eyes quickly darting or slowly drifting around the room aimlessly. Instead, your goal is to make intentional eye contact with your audience so you can make a connection. Here's some tips to help you with this. Connect before you start speaking. Make eye contact with an audience member before you start your presentation. If you know someone in the room, it may be more comfortable to start with them. Divide the audience into sections. Make an effort to connect with people in each section as you're speaking. In a theater-style setup, divide the room into quadrants. If the room is configured as a horseshoe, divide it into thirds. Then, make an effort to connect eyes with a couple of people in one section, and then move your gaze to another section. For a large audience, if you're looking directly at one person, the people sitting close by that person also feel like you're connecting with them. Hold the gaze for three to six seconds. Or, if you don't…

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