When you’re giving a presentation to a group of people, eye contact is key. It can be difficult to make eye contact with a large audience, but it’s important to do your best. 

In this blog post, we will discuss some tips for improving your eye contact while public speaking. We’ll also provide some helpful tips for looking comfortable and connected while up on stage. 

Follow these tips and you’ll be able to make strong connections with your audience the next time you find yourself public speaking!

 

Learn your content well

 

The first step to making eye contact is to learn your content well.  This will help you feel more comfortable when speaking and will allow you to make eye contact while still delivering your message.   If you know your content well, you’ll be able to make eye contact while still delivering your message.

 

Focus on one person at a time (but not the same person every time)

It’s important to focus on a few people at a time, rather than looking around the room constantly. This will help you make a connection with each person – trying to focus on one or two different people at a time in each section of the room can be a great way to make sure that you’re getting enough variety!

 

 

Write your notes clearly

 

It’s also important to write your notes very neatly and clearly.  This way, you can easily glance at them while still making eye contact with your audience. If you’re looking down at your notes constantly and having trouble reading what you’ve written,  it will be much more difficult to make eye contact.

 

 

 

Write less on your notes!

It’s also important to write as few notes as possible! This is because the more you have to reference your notes, the more difficult it becomes to make eye contact. If you have lots of things written on your palm cards, you’ll use them as a crutch and refer to them more regularly than if there are less words on your cards. If you can, you may even want to memories the main ideas (but never word for word – check out the next section!) as this will make it easier to rely on fewer notes! 

 

 

Learn the art of improvisation

Get comfortable with improvisation and elaborating things on the spot. The skill of improvisation helps improve eye contact, because you can be more in the moment rather than thinking about what to say next. It can also come off as more genuine and natural, which makes the talk feel more interesting for the audience. Get comfortable with delivering a sentence in a couple of different ways – the specific words you use matter less than making eye contact and truly getting the point across.

 

 

 

Keep your body language open

Eye contact goes both ways!

When you’re speaking, it’s also important to keep your body language open. Avoid crossing your arms or legs, as this can make you appear closed off. Instead, try to keep your hands at your sides or in front of you. This will help you appear approachable and will encourage people to make eye contact with you.

 

 

Keep eye contact to a couple of seconds per person

Whilst it’s a good idea to focus on individuals within the audience, remember that eye contact is about making a connection with everyone in the audience. Don’t stare at someone for too long, as this can make them feel uncomfortable. Instead, maintain eye contact for a few seconds before moving on to someone else.

 

 

 

Find a focal point

This can be a spot on the wall, a person in the audience, or anything that you can focus your eyes on. Once you have a focal point, it will be easier to make eye contact with the rest of the room.

The next step is to practice making eye contact with different people in the room. Try to make eye contact with someone new every few seconds. This will help you get comfortable with making eye contact and also help you connect with more people in the room.

 

 

A trick for nervous speakers

If you’re having trouble looking at people in the eye (which is very normal!), another tip is to look at somebody’s forehead rather than their eyes.  This can help you avoid eye contact altogether if you’re feeling too nervous, whilst still looking like you’re engaging with your audience – they can’t tell,  and you’ll still appear to be making eye contact. Once you get more comfortable, you can gradually start making eye contact with people.

 

 

It’s okay to take breaks!

Finally, don’t forget to take breaks! If you’re feeling overwhelmed, take a few seconds to look away from the audience and focus on something else in the room. This will help you to relax and refocus your attention on the public speaking task at hand.

 

 

Practice makes perfect in public speaking

When you’re first starting out at public speaking, eye contact can be one of the most difficult things to master. However, with a bit of practice, it will become easier and more natural.

Remember to focus on a few people at a time, write your notes clearly, and keep your body language open.  And if you’re feeling nervous, just focus on somebody’s forehead.

With time and practice, eye contact will become second nature!

 

 

Deliver your speech with success in mind

Making eye contact is an important part of public speaking, but it can also be one of the most difficult skills to learn. However, by following these tips (as well as some others across our blog), you can enhance your eye contact and make strong connections with your audience, leaving the impression you are a confident and comfortable public speaker during every speech.

 

 

Looking for training? Find courses near you!

Do you want to find courses that can help improve eye contact skills for kids learning public speaking? Get high-quality training with individualised feedback at one of our Holiday Workshops or Term Program Courses for kids of all ages from Kindy to Year 9.  Our coaches watch for individual habits when it comes to speaking style, and give tips, strategies, and ideas unique to each child to help them improve their performance in every course.

Reduce fear, beat anxiety, and lose nerves by beginning your child’s public speaking journey in a fun and safe environment that can help them to love to talk in front of a crowd. The best speeches come from kids who are having a blast during their presentations.

Visit our locations map to find out where our in-person workshops are being held the coming term or holidays! We hope to see you soon!

 

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