Eye contact

[Gemma214]

Hi all, I have to give my first presentation in my speech class this Friday and I'm pretty nervous. Making eye contact with people in the audience is part of the grade and eye contact makes me feel so uncomfortable. When I'm talking to my therapist I spend half the time looking at her bookcase. Any advice on how to feel a little less anxious about it?

 

[cheer_mom]

Find a spot on a wall behind the classmates. Look at those spots so it seems you are making eye contact. I did this in my speech class and I always scored high on eye contact.

 

[MainerMikeBrown]

Gemma, how did your first presentation in your speech class go? How did making eye contact with the folks in the audience work out for you?

 

[Gemma214]

Not too bad! We get constructive criticism from all the students in the class and a couple of them mentioned eye contact but my professor said my presentation was "nearly flawless" so I've decided to not care about their comments lol. Very glad it's over!

 

[MainerMikeBrown]

Good job, Gemma! I'm glad it went well for you. Now you can relax.

 

[smilingsoul]

Congratulations, Gemma. That can be a difficult thing to do! It gets easier, too.