5 Eye Contact Tips for Speakers

Eye contact with the audience is essential for speakers, whether you’re in a small meeting or addressing a crowd of 1,000. Failing to use eye contact means you’re losing one of the most important tools you have to connect and convince your audience about your message. In the speaker-audience relationship, your very position establishes you as the leader of the group–at least for the duration of your talk. Research shows thatlooking away from your audience signals avoidance, looking at them signals approach, and that audiences rate it highly. It’s important, however, to use eye contact as you would any other presentation tool: wisely and well. Here are five ways to make sure your “eyes have it” in your next speech.