Today’s Take: The Eyes Have It
For most of us, public speaking is an important part of our personal and professional lives. As it pertains to lawyers, our job is often to persuade, whether our audience is jurors, judges, or opposing parties. For others, it may mean presenting ideas at meetings or giving a toast at a wedding. Regardless of the context, in its most basic form, public speaking is about communicating with your audience. And when it comes to communication, research has shown that how you say something is often more important than what you say. What’s more, how you say something involves more than your inflections or emotion when you speak; non-verbal communication is also a key aspect of public speaking, yet one that is commonly overlooked. The purpose of this article is to briefly address one of the most basic tenets of non-verbal communication: eye contact.
In order to speak well in front of others, we have to first acknowledge that public speaking involves overcoming fear. Despite the inevitability of public speaking, or perhaps because of it, humans possess a seemingly innate fear of speaking in front of others. Public speaking is often cited as being the most common fear among people around the world, often above the fear of heights, death, darkness, insects and serpents. These surveys suggest that the fear of public speaking is powerful and primal. Thus, in order to speak well in front of others, we have to first understand that it will not be easy or comfortable to overcome our natural instincts, and that doing so requires us to develop new skills.
When communicating, particularly when you are trying to persuade someone, a mental connection is paramount. In order to connect, your audience needs to be able to trust you. You need to appear credible. You need to exude confidence in being able to lead them down whatever path it is you want them to take. Each of these can be addressed, at least in part, non-verbally through eye contact.
You probably already know that eye contact, in a general sense, is important when speaking to an audience. However, it is not easily understood what eye contact means and how best to use it. For instance, I think it would be universally accepted that literally reading from your notes in front of an audience with your head down is an ineffective method of communication. But does the criticism of “make more eye contact” mean to look up more often from your notes? Yes, but it is also much more. Eye contact means focusing your eyes on the eyes of an individual listener, and if your audience contains many listeners, focusing your eyes on one listener at a time. The point is to connect with your audience, on an individual level, for as long as it takes to convey an entire thought. So next time you are in front of an audience, lock eyes with a listener and sustain that eye contact long enough to give that listener a complete thought. Then turn to another listener and tell him or her your next complete thought, then turn to another and repeat. Public speaking should feel like having a series of short, one-way conversations with individual after individual. By using eye contact to establish these individual connections with your audience, without any consideration of your choice of words, you will have conveyed trust, credibility and confidence, and therefore, have maximized the impact of your words.
Eric W. Cheung, Partner in ECJ’s Litigation Department
Today’s Taste: I recommend the Honig 2009 Sauvignon Blanc Rutherford Reserve. A classic case of style meeting substance. Composed of 85% Sauvignon, 11% Semillon and 4 % Muscat, this wine reveals more honeyed melon, gravel and flint notes than the pure Sauvignon, plus moer body and depth. The label design on this bottle took Gold at the 2011 San Francisco International Wine Competition. The wine itself was rated 90 points by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. About $20.
On Writs and Wine is the blog of ECJ’s Litigation Department, featuring our takes on a variety of litigation-related issues, plus a wine recommendation for your palate’s delight. Your feedback—on both the takes and the wine—is much appreciated. Enjoy!