Day #5 – Where do you look?
When we stand on the stage, we have so many things to deal with. Where do I position myself? Where do my hands? Do I remember what I want to tell them?
In my opinion, most of us spend too much time preparing for the content and remembering it and subordinate everything about how we are going to say it. And research shows 93% of communication is non-verbal. In other words, once a speech is created, it’s all about delivery and most likely we miss it.
After mulling it over for years & doing experiments like other Toastmasters, I am convinced what separates a good delivery and a not so good one is about one delivery technique more than anything else. It’s making eye contact with the audience. They want to see it in your eye.
The audience is forgiving & loving as long as the speaker is the same. The audience does also have piercing eyes – they can see if we – the speakers – are authentic, are really concerned about them. Every time we go up to the stage, they need to see our credibility, our passion and concern for them – in our eyes. We as speakers can’t afford to lose sight of this as much as not losing eye contact with them. When you don’t lose eye contact with your audience, you don’t lose them.
I remember a few of my speeches for the emotions in the eyes of the audience. I also remember other speeches when I could not make eye contact with them because I have let them down by lack of preparation. An overnight speech? You know it. And I know it not because I have been there on the stage, but because I have also been in the audience.
My manifesto for a speech has changed since this finding – for me now a speech is more about looking into the eyes of audience & deliver something meaningful. From the concept of a speech to delivery through crafting it – everything is driven by this premise.
You might have a question – “then how to transition my eyes from one audience member to another?” Let’s answer that on another day!
Whether you accept my premise or not, I request you to experiment this for at least for one point or one story in your speech. Think in this sequence – message, emotion, how to word/script, prepare well enough. Then go to the stage and lose yourself in the eyes of the audience. If you do it well, I bet the audience will be lost in you. They say that eyes are the windows of the soul and when souls meet, speaking is a joy as much as listening to it!