In Public Speaking, The Eyes Have It
When Speaking in Public, the Eyes are Powerful Tools for Communication
The eyes are the windows to the soul. This quote has been traced all the way back to Cicero and the ancient Greeks. Our eyes are one of the most powerful tools we have to communicate with others. Ask any film director and they’ll tell you it’s often how an actor uses his or her eyes that lands them the role. When most of us prepare to give a presentation, we focus on writing the content and organizing our slides. We might give a thought to our appearance and practice a little with our voice. But our eyes? Who thinks about that? However, in these days of video and online presentations, learning to communicate well with our eyes is vital.
I’ve heard many colleagues give recommendations for where to focus the eyes when speaking publicly. “Look over everyone’s heads and don’t make direct eye contact,” says one coach. “Make eye contact for 3-5 seconds with every person in the room,” says another. But both of these guidelines have their drawbacks. People connect with us and trust what we’re saying if we make eye contact with them. When we never look anyone in the eye, listeners feel that our message is not authentic. In some cultures, however, too much direct eye contact is considered impolite and so we have to be strategic and respectful to the needs of different audience members. Still, everyone knows what it’s like to sit through a presentation where the speaker only looks at his slides, or down at her paper. As human beings, we crave the connection of eye contact.
But how to manage that connection in the virtual world? There are many techniques we can use from the actor’s toolbox. The first is to do that most terrifying thing: videotape yourself giving a speech and watch what you do with your eyes. Most of us have difficulty looking at ourselves on video, but approach this objectively and maintain detachment. Don’t worry about your hair or your smile: look at your eyes. Do you blink too frequently? Do you look upward or over to the side when you’re not sure what you want to say next? (In theatre, we often have to remind young actors that their lines “aren’t written on the inside of their foreheads.”) Do you constantly look down or up or over at your paper or at your slides? All of these are habits and there’s only way to change them. Concentration and practice.
In an audition, actors rarely have the lines memorized and have to read them. One trick we use to keep this process more real is to memorize the beginning and ending of a line. This technique can be applied when giving a presentation as well. Memorize the opening and closing sentences of a paragraph. This way you can make eye contact during the most important parts of your speech. Another technique to keep your eyes from wandering is to use split screen or an additional computer monitor so that whatever you’re reading only requires a quick glance to see it. One actor friend of mine mounts her lines on a cookbook stand when she’s doing performances online.
In film acting, you also have to be consistent with your “eyeline,” that is where your eyes are looking. Directly at the camera? Slightly up or down? Off to one side or the other? Practice focusing your eyes in one direction or another as you speak. Then videotape your speech and see what feels most pleasing to you as a viewer. Personally, I find that looking into my own eyes during a zoom presentation seems to help me connect with my audience. Others prefer looking directly into the camera. Again, practice what works best for you. Another technique that actors use both on stage and, more subtly in film, is what the great acting teacher Stanislavsky called “circles of attention.” I have also heard this referred to as “circles of awareness” in the storytelling world.
Are you speaking of a memory, a realization or a deep emotion that you feel personally? This requires that your eyes stay looking outward but focus inward, an interior attention. It draws your audience inside with you. Our instinct when being thoughtful is to close our eyes or look down. But the audience likes to actually see your thought process so keep the eyes looking out, and take the focus inside.
Perhaps your eyes are looking at something physical that’s connected to your immediate environment – your hand, your notes, a pen. The circle of attention and focus of the eyes becomes exterior but stays connected to you. Are you speaking directly to your audience, making eye contact and connecting with them, pulling your attention and focus outward and away from you? Or are you focused even further outward, on a vision or a scene that you see projected out there in the space in front of you?
This last technique is used frequently by storytellers, as they describe a sweeping dramatic scene. They literally “project” the scene with their own eyes, and the audiences “sees” the story along with them. It should be used strategically, and is especially effective when your goal is to inspire the audience or get them excited about the possibilities of a new project or strategy. Most of us use these different circles of attention naturally and are not even aware that we’re doing it. But practicing and using them strategically can make you a truly powerful speaker and communicator.
Remember that your eyes are one of the most powerful tools you have to communicate with others. When asked for advice about acting, the film star James Cagney once said: “Learn your lines, find your mark, look ‘em in the eye and tell ‘em the truth.” Practicing your presentation so you know both the content and the way you are presenting that content is vital. And then – look at your audience, connect with them and speak your truth.
