How to Make Eye Contact While Giving an Oral Presentation
Prepare your presentation., Make note cards with your key points at the top and smaller points below., When you are speaking to people, look them in the eye., Give your entire presentation to yourself, in the mirror., Go for it!
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Prepare your presentation.
If it is entirely oral and there is no visual aid (i.e.:
Power Point, Photos, Short Film, etc) you will need to make sure that you know all of your material.
Spend time reading and trying to memorize your key points.
It might help to make a list of ten key points that you absolutely need to cover.
Study them, recite them, record them and put the sound file on your iPod or MP3 player and listen to them before you go to sleep. -
Step 2: Make note cards with your key points at the top and smaller points below.
Practice giving your presentation by reading off of the cards and looking up towards a stuffed animal or pause a video or TV show when the screen is focused on a character's face.
Try looking the figure in the eye while doing this.
Repeat this often and try using the cards less and less.
Don't look at one person for too long making them uncomfortable.
A rule of thumb would be to hold eye contact for about 3-5 seconds.
Make eye contact across several areas of the audience in a natural manner trying not to jump from person to person quickly. , If you don't normally do this, it might give you a boost of confidence in a regular conversation.
Try asking someone to listen to a bit of your presentation (in between classes, during lunch, when ever you have free time).
Tell them the key points and try look them in the eye while you are doing so. , Look into your own eyes as much as possible while you are doing it(this is much harder than it sounds).
After you've done this technique, you can also record yourself on your camera and note how many times you look away when you play it back. , If you've followed these steps and you feel that you are confident in knowing your material, you should be able to look people in the eye while giving your presentation. -
Step 3: When you are speaking to people
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Step 4: look them in the eye.
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Step 5: Give your entire presentation to yourself
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Step 6: in the mirror.
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Step 7: Go for it!
Detailed Guide
If it is entirely oral and there is no visual aid (i.e.:
Power Point, Photos, Short Film, etc) you will need to make sure that you know all of your material.
Spend time reading and trying to memorize your key points.
It might help to make a list of ten key points that you absolutely need to cover.
Study them, recite them, record them and put the sound file on your iPod or MP3 player and listen to them before you go to sleep.
Practice giving your presentation by reading off of the cards and looking up towards a stuffed animal or pause a video or TV show when the screen is focused on a character's face.
Try looking the figure in the eye while doing this.
Repeat this often and try using the cards less and less.
Don't look at one person for too long making them uncomfortable.
A rule of thumb would be to hold eye contact for about 3-5 seconds.
Make eye contact across several areas of the audience in a natural manner trying not to jump from person to person quickly. , If you don't normally do this, it might give you a boost of confidence in a regular conversation.
Try asking someone to listen to a bit of your presentation (in between classes, during lunch, when ever you have free time).
Tell them the key points and try look them in the eye while you are doing so. , Look into your own eyes as much as possible while you are doing it(this is much harder than it sounds).
After you've done this technique, you can also record yourself on your camera and note how many times you look away when you play it back. , If you've followed these steps and you feel that you are confident in knowing your material, you should be able to look people in the eye while giving your presentation.
About the Author
Frank Perry
Specializes in breaking down complex pet care topics into simple steps.
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