Why eye contact is a key to your success.

Have you ever had a conversation with someone who avoided your gaze? If so, and this is more common than you think, you probably felt somewhat ignored or you thought that you were in front of someone who was hiding something from you. In a business, scientific or technical presentation, your audience might feel that this presentation is of little or no importance, such as your presence, that you are a beginner or poorly prepared for this event. In all these cases, the lack of eye contact could put your best efforts at risk. Here are the reasons to pay attention to this essential skill and tips on how to do it successfully.

What for?

• Improve your concentration.

There are often a lot of distractions in a meeting room as well as in your mind during a presentation. Oddly enough, making eye individual contact with your listeners helps center you, calm you down, and focus on your message. In addition, those few seconds during which you look at a member of your audience in the eye, will slow down your flow and replenish your oxygen.

• Transform your audience. Your listeners will be more likely to be active participants of the presentation when they meet your eyes. Signs such as nodding, facial animation, and sometimes smiles will let you know that they are involved participants and not passive listeners to this speech and that this presentation is turning into a conversation. This creates a bond between the speaker and the listener that allows you to think that they are listening to you and that they are not thinking about anything other than what your presentation is about.

• Establish your position of authority and credibility When you look someone in the eye for a few seconds, you'll seem more confident and appear like a presenter who has mastered the subject. This puts you in a position of authority and reaffirms your status as an expert while demonstrating that you care about your listeners response in a caring way. These considerations from your listeners serve to support your credibility and put you in a better position to convince them.

How?

• Make contact before the presentation A good tip is to meet your listeners as much as possible before your presentation. By the time you get in front and speak, these people will not be completely unknown to you and it will be easier for you to make eye contact during your presentation.

• Engaging listeners Although it is difficult to make eye contact with each listener in a very large audience, choose one or two people in each section of the room or tables during your speech. Avoid always having the same predictable sequence going from one section to another (e.g. table, 1,2,3,4...). Change the sequence to look more natural.

• Stick to 5 seconds or less. Generally, you can silently count to 3 when you are looking at an audience member. More than 5 seconds could be uncomfortable for the person you're holding the gaze with. Be aware that holding the gaze is subject to the cultural context of your audience.

• Maintaining eye contact in critical moments. Be sure to emphasize key points with sustained eye contact at important moments of your presentation. Critical moments include your opening remarks, relevant moments in your presentation, your summary, and your concluding remarks where it's important to make an impact.
• Practice. When practicing your presentation before your event, use an empty room or better yet, the one in which you will deliver your speech, by directing your gaze into various areas of the room at key moments in your speech as if you were in front of an audience. If you don't have access to a meeting room, the living room, dining room, and even the garage of your home can be used as a conference room in a pinch!