| Step Up Your Speaking: Eye Contact |
Greetings!
Welcome to the Step Up Your Speaking newsletter! This month, the eyes have it--we're all about eye contact.
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Eye Contact: Tips and Trip-ups  When you use eye contact well--by looking at all parts of the room and using it to strengthen what you're saying--you'll improve your chances of engaging your audience, whether you're in a meeting or a major speech. But eye contact also can tell the audience you've lost your place -- a kind of visual "um" -- or that you don't feel comfortable, distracting from your message. Focusing on how you use eye contact can help you make it one of your strengths.
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How to Practice Eye Contact Skills
Eye contact's tough to practice on your own. No mirror can really help. Instead, try these simple tips to practice and build on your eye contact skills. 
- Beginners: Write notes in your text -- "look left" or "look right" -- to remind yourself, and to make sure your eyes scan the whole room.
- Seasoned speakers: At least a few times a year, get a friend to record you speaking. Analyze the video looking for visual "ums" when you look to one side or the other--they signal you've lost your place--and to count how often your eyes move around the room. Then plan your next presentation to correct those challenges.
- Bonus: Find a point in your speech that you can emphasize with a direct gaze, by looking down and then up, or otherwise use your eyes to strengthen the impact of your words.
Recording yourself has never been easier with the current crop of ultralight and inexpensive video records--the Flip camera is my favorite. Go to the electronics section of The Eloquent Woman store to find Flip cameras and accessories. |
