Communications Insight For More Inspiring Leaders A Few Tips on Eye Contact!

A Few Tips on Eye Contact!

 12th Jun 2023
 
 
Simon Bucknall
 
Are you neglecting one of the most important delivery skills in spoken communication?

I’m referring to Eye Contact.

Variety and balance are the keys.

Classic habits to undo include:

Staring for too long - a la crocodile

The hard stare - a la Paddington Bear in a huff

Not having the courtesy of making eye contact at all - a la the waiter who just served me and took payment at the restaurant I’m currently in at London City Airport!

The lighthouse - scanning constantly without ever lingering

The escape artist - constantly glancing away as if in search of an escape route or someone more interesting to talk to…

*

You don’t need to look at the other person constantly. But continually checking in is good.

Experiment with lingering for just a little longer than may feel comfortable. That’s when the connection is forged.

Especially when saying something important.

Soften the eyes. It’s amazing the subconscious impact a kindly connection can have.

The bigger the audience, the slower the eye movements should be. Takes time to connect; imagine your audience is thirsty. They need time to slake that thirst as you look at them.

Only then move on.

Mix it up. This is not about geometric patterns. Organic is good.

Bottom line?

Look at us! 😀

#communication #publicspeaking #leadership
 

 Simon's masterclass on pitching and effective communication attracted over 60 MBA's and other post-graduate students from across Oxford during the exam period ... testament to how valuable people thought it was. I would recommend it to anyone, especially mid-career professionals, looking to enhance their ability to communicate their ideas with conviction.

 

Soushiant Zangenehpour | Manager, Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, Said Business School, University of Oxford

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