Good eye contact is critical for connecting well when speaking to students. Here are three tips to help you improve your eye contact the next time you speak:
1. Be intentional about looking up and out.
When you are speaking to students, being intentional about keeping your eyes focused up from the floor and out to the audience is key. You want to be familiar enough with your content that you do not need to look down at your notes incessantly or read from a manuscript.
2. Try to be natural with your eye movement.
As you are speaking be aware of where you are looking in the audience. You don't want to look unnatural by focusing on one person or favoring one particular seating area. In the same way, you do not want to look like a "lawn sprinkler" either (by awkwardly moving your head from side to side).
3. Use the 5-Second Rule.
One of the best ways for you to connect with the students you are speaking to is to use the "5-second rule" of eye contact. Here's how it works: When speaking to a group of students, be sure to look directly into the eyes of one specific student for five seconds while making a point. When the five seconds are over, intentionally break eye contact with that student and make eye contact with a different individual in the room for five new seconds. In doing so, you will improve your connection with both individual students and the group as a whole.
What additional eye contact tips or tricks do you use when speaking to students?
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