Body language and more on eye contact

Watch yourself perform. Often, we do not realize that we make a certain mistake until we see ourselves do it. For instance, one speech student demonstrated a nervous mannerism through all of his speeches. No matter how many times he was told of this tendency, he persisted in using it. Finally, he was videotaped and allowed to see himself perform. He never used the distracting mannerism again. Videotaping is the best way to watch yourself speak, but if a camera is not available, speaking into a full-length mirror or even audio taping your speech can also be useful.

Even thought eye contact is vitally important, it is something with which we sometimes feel uncomfortable, especially if we are nervous, as we may be while speaking. The stare down can help you overcome the anxiety you feel when asked to make eye contact with class members and other audience members.

Find a partner. You try to look into your partner’s eyes for a full two minutes. Blinking is allowed, but talking, laughing, looking away, and touching aren’t. A technique that is sometimes helpful is to conduct this activity twice, choosing your partner the first time and being randomly assigned to a partner the second. The reason for this is that when you choose a partner, you will probably choose someone you know well, which makes the assignment easier. How-ever, when partners are assigned, you may be paired with someone you don’t know well, which is a more uncomfortable situation.