Page 32 - Kindness - No Forward
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Improve Your Eye Contact
People who have trouble maintaining eye contact can try this exercise to
improve their communication effectiveness.
As you listen to the other person, try to maintain a constant focus of that
person’s eyes, “mirroring” the facial expressions of the speaker.
When you speak, shift your gaze from their eyes to their ears or another
nearby facial feature (don’t shift your gaze to any exceptional features,
however, as this would send an entirely different, and unwelcome,
message).
As you continue the exercise, gradually shift your gaze closer to the
listener’s eyes and, once you reach the eyes, hold your eye contact.
Improved eye contact will send a message, loud and clear, of confidence,
interest, and empathy.
Eye Contact Even Works In a Group
Steady eye contact is a requirement for any world-class presentation to a
group.
When addressing a group, we should talk to the audience as if there were
only two or three people in the room, pausing as we speak to make eye
contact with the entire group.
While it is impossible to make eye contact with everyone in large
audiences, the feeling that is projected is one of talking to individuals, not
to an anonymous mob of bodies.
