A lot of times, when I had been asked to deliver soft skills training, most of my participants had this fear of making a proper eye contact with the person they talk to.
Out of all our senses used in communication, having an eye contact tops the list of one of the most crucial form of sending a message across.
Some of my participants find it difficult to make eye contact with their audience. When a person presents in front of say 2-3 people, they are comfortable to talk. But when this number exceeds to about 10 or more people, the presenter finds it very hard to focus and concentrate to their trail of thoughts and lose out on confidence of speech. This also results in stage fright and loss of confidence.
Labelled in one of the non-verbal component of communication process, making an eye contact with your audience indicates that you are focused and paying attention. It means that you are actually listening to what the other person has to say.
So when I take a communication or presentation skills workshop, I teach the importance of eye communication.
You must be wondering as to what is the difference between eye contact and eye communication.
Eye contact can be fleeting or just a glance for a fraction of a second. It does not necessarily indicates audience connection with the presenter. The audience tends to loose their interest and generally stop listening to what the person has to say. This kills the purpose of the presentation or communication process.
It also leads people to think that you are unsure of your content. Frequent flickering of your eyes convey low self esteem, lack of control, and unconvincing.
Exercise: In a group of 2-4 friends, talk to only one friend in the group when all of you are together. Ignore all others present and their initiations towards being part of your conversation. Observe what happens to the group dynamics.
Whereas, an eye communication refers to the connection. It:
So when you are next presenting in front of a group or an audience, follow an eye communication pattern rather than eye contact pattern.
Remember, the only way to make you a better presenter, Practice, Practice and more Practice!
Out of all our senses used in communication, having an eye contact tops the list of one of the most crucial form of sending a message across.
Some of my participants find it difficult to make eye contact with their audience. When a person presents in front of say 2-3 people, they are comfortable to talk. But when this number exceeds to about 10 or more people, the presenter finds it very hard to focus and concentrate to their trail of thoughts and lose out on confidence of speech. This also results in stage fright and loss of confidence.
Labelled in one of the non-verbal component of communication process, making an eye contact with your audience indicates that you are focused and paying attention. It means that you are actually listening to what the other person has to say.
You must be wondering as to what is the difference between eye contact and eye communication.
Eye contact can be fleeting or just a glance for a fraction of a second. It does not necessarily indicates audience connection with the presenter. The audience tends to loose their interest and generally stop listening to what the person has to say. This kills the purpose of the presentation or communication process.
It also leads people to think that you are unsure of your content. Frequent flickering of your eyes convey low self esteem, lack of control, and unconvincing.
Exercise: In a group of 2-4 friends, talk to only one friend in the group when all of you are together. Ignore all others present and their initiations towards being part of your conversation. Observe what happens to the group dynamics.
- establishes rapport
- increases your ability to persuade and influence
- contributes towards higher attention levels
- strengthens the involvement of the listeners
Food for thought: When you look into someone's eyes, it changes the entire conversation!
Remember, the only way to make you a better presenter, Practice, Practice and more Practice!
- Article contributed by Entrenador Shruti Misra, a Neuro-Leadership & Business Coach. She is also a Soft Skills Trainer & NLP Master Practitioner.
A very well sketched out introduction of the program for people of all walks of life to benefit from .Makes an absolute interesting read as it talks abt human mind and it's reaction in diff. situations.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your support! Really humbled and grateful.
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