What percentage of your speech should you engage in eye contact with the audience?

6 Benefits Of Eye Contact When Speaking Publicly

Brad Smith • Apr 22, 2020

If there is one easy but extremely powerful thing you can do to enhance your impact as a presenter, to persuade your audience to see things as you see them, and make it more likely your audience will understand and agree to your idea, it is without a doubt purposeful eye contact.

Having eye contact helps you build rapport with your audience and will keep them engaged with your presentation. It also gives them a sense of involvement and conveys your message on a more personal level.

6 Benefits Of Eye Contact When Speaking Publicly

1. It projects authority and confidence. When you have sustained, focused eye contact it can portray the position authority on a subject. If you can’t look people in the eye, you can’t expect them to believe or agree with your point of view. Good eye contact can automatically also communicate confidence, conviction, and assertiveness during your presentation.
2. Helps you read your audience. Use direct eye contact to read and understand your audience better. As you speak learn if the audience is telling you everything about how they perceive your presentation. An extremely useful way to read their body language is in their eyes. Are their eyes looking up at you with interest and a smile, staring at the wall behind you or looking down on the ground?
3. Enables you to concentrate better. When your eyes are scanning a room you end up taking in a lot of imagery. All of the different colors and shapes actually slow your brain down because it’s trying to concentrate on what you’re saying and also on all of the other things that your eyes browse over. By making direct eye contact often, it allows your brain to focus on just one thing and to focus on what you’re trying to say.
4. It helps your audience pay better attention. Making eye contact with somebody is a good way to get them to pay attention to you. With available technology at our fingertips as well as other distractions, it’s really easy for your audience to quickly lose focus. If you look at them they will likely also look at you.
5. Allows your audience to participate. People will feel welcome to participate when they see you scanning the crowd. They’ll be at liberty to react with looks of an understanding, smiles, and raise their brows. If you look at them long enough to create a bond, you’ll find a spark of recognition in their eyes. In that precise moment, you can transform them from being passive receivers to active participants.
6. Helps you have a better speaking tempo. When you look someone in the eye for three to five seconds, you will naturally slow down your speech, which will make you sound more confident and presidential. This slower speech tempo will help you talk at a more natural pace and makes it easier for others to understand you.

The Takeaway

A lot of presenters make the mistake of focusing too much on their content and not enough on engaging with their audience. No doubt your content is truly important, but if the audience doesn’t feel connected to you or what you’re saying, then all of your hard work could be for nothing.

Being able to make direct eye contact with individuals will give them a sense of involvement in your presentation and helps to convey your objectives on a personal level.

How to be Authentic to YOU

Have you struggled to be 100% yourself with everyone? Do you feel like you have had to mask yourself to fit in with the crowd you’re surrounded by, or maybe you’ve masked who you really are online as well? The truth is, the world doesn’t need the fake version of you, but the real version of you. Besides, being fake is drab; the world really needs the beautiful self that you are. Today, I want to challenge you to be yourself . Have you ever read a book that is filled with raw emotions, imagery, and the vulnerability of an author? Have you ever heard a speech where the speaker is being real about what they’ve experienced? It’s like their words are speaking directly to you with passion and authenticity. That is what I want to challenge you to be! Tips for being authentic: Speak your honest thoughts and feelings, but with boundaries Practice self-affirmation Take it step by step by starting with close friends/family that are a safe place for you Write out your thoughts if you need to before you speak up for yourself Stop yourself when you feel the tendency to agree because it’s easier or go with the opinions of everyone else Be you always and be you up front, even when you meet someone! Those who belong in your corner are the ones who love you just the way you are. The next time you go to write or speak, the world will be enamored by you when you’re authentic. I’ll leave you with this example. Let’s say you hang out with your friends and you’re usually the one who stuffs how you’re really doing. One of your friends asks, “How are you doing?” Instead of saying the typical, “Good,” you say, “Actually, I’m just okay today. I think I am working through a lot right now, but I believe that I can work through this. There’s just been a lot going on.” This usually leads into a conversation and that’s the perfect opportunity to be vulnerable. You might even find that being authentic leads others to want to do the same. Remember, the world needs the real YOU. If you need to wear all hot pink clothes, go right ahead! If you want to dye your hair bright purple, go ahead! If you want to write a book, go do it! Find ways you can be authentic to yourself today !

You Can Use Your Voice With Writing Too.

By Precious Williams • 15 Mar, 2022 •

Have you ever thought that because you’re not “good” at writing that you could never write? Well, I am here to tell you that you can WRITE. You are fully capable of letting your powerful speaking words exist on paper. My book has reached many people because I took that step of boldness and kicked aside the disbelief that “I couldn’t write.” Here are 8 steps to follow when you START your writing process: Write with confidence. Your best work will come when you are confident in who you are. Be you all the time. Stay authentic to yourself when you are writing. No one wants to read the work of someone that isn’t true to themselves. Don’t be afraid to say what is on your mind. Say what you think is best and remember that it’s okay to say what others might be afraid to say. Just be real! Be proud of your work and don’t criticize your writing. When you share about what you wrote, boldly share it! Be so proud that you push aside your negative thoughts and choose to use your VOICE. What you say has power, so write with boldness. Have you ever heard a speaker talk with boldness and power? The whole room is entranced by that person speaking. They are in awe. Well, you can do that in writing too. All it takes is the right words to draw your reader in. Use some pink font if you have to! Be unique. We weren’t meant to be like anyone else. Who we are is the perfect image of what we are to be. Be unique and flaunt it! Add your own colorful words to stand out from the other writers. Find a community of writers. It can be helpful to have people work with us to speak truth to us and not be afraid to say, “You can do this!!” Don’t stop writing. Just when it gets hard, that’s the moment you keep going!! Your voice has power in writing so keep using it!! I’m proud of you for starting your writing journey. Just remember: be you, be unique, and be bold. (Also add some color!)

Presenting With Confidence When You Don’t Feel Your Best

By Precious Williams • 01 Mar, 2022 •

It’s that time of year when colds and sore throats are starting to make the rounds. For any professional who relies on their voice, a sore throat can be a nightmare! So, what should you do if you wake up the day before or the morning of a speaking engagement with a sore throat, or a tired or nearly nonexistent voice? Give the pitch or the speech with confidence anyways! A sore throat can be scary or painful but is not always a reason to cancel. Read on for some strategies to help you present with confidence even when you don’t feel well. Strategy #1: Care for Yourself Physically If your problem is a sore throat or other physical illness (which does not require staying home per current health recommendations in this time we live in, of course) you need to care for yourself. The most important step to take is to rest your body and rest your voice by using it as little as possible. It’s also crucial to stay hydrated. Avoid coffee and alcohol (natural dehydrators). Try drinking hot tea with lemon, honey, or ginger instead to reduce inflammation. Breathing in steam from a humidifier or hot, steamy shower can also help soothe a sore throat! *As a note: you should never force yourself to speak if it is excruciatingly painful or you can barely get a sound out. If you do that, you risk really damaging your vocal cords. Sometimes, we try everything we can to fix the problems, but our bodies still just need a rest, and we need to listen, even if it means canceling or rescheduling! Strategy #2: Accommodate Yourself While Speaking You are capable and confident, but you don’t need to strain or exhaust yourself while giving your pitch! Don’t hesitate to ask for aids to help you. If your problem is a sore throat, try using a microphone while you are presenting so you don’t have to project as much. You can also revise your pitch or presentation to make it more concise. This will protect your voice, conserve energy, and reduce the amount of time you have to maintain your game face. It can also be helpful to create or revise your visual aid to include more written information for your audience to read. (But don’t put so much on a visual aid that it looks overwhelming or clunky!) Strategy #3: Have Confidence Even if you feel sick or blah, your idea, insight, pitch, and content are just as impactful today as they were yesterday when you felt 100%. So go in with confidence like the bad bitch you are and know that you still deserve to be listened to. Wear an outfit that you feel confident in, put on your favorite lipstick or set of earrings, and stand tall as you speak. If you believe you can do it and that what you have to say is still worth hearing, your listeners will too.

What percent of speech should be eye contact?

When making eye contact with your audience during a speech you should?

How much eye contact should you make with your audience during extemporaneous delivery?