Lose the Lectern

Remember when Christopher Walken used to host Saturday Night Live like once a month back in the day? OK, it wasn’t that frequent. But he was always due for a memorable sketch here or there that made him sort of a legend on the show.

I haven’t watched SNL in a minute, but Walken was always great and I miss seeing him on there from time to time. What I don’t miss, however, is the fact that he would read his lines off of cue cards. Yes, lots of guests do this, but for some reason it always bothered me when Walken would read his lines sliiiiightly off-camera, or at teleprompters or whatever else was lurking off-screen.

When my students do this in front of the room during a speech, I get it. I get how nerve-wracking it feels to be up there, afraid of being judged by their own peers just by looking at them.

And while it’s something that I practice often in my classroom to make sure students are looking up at their audience, students still fall into a trap of letting their eyes wander to the screen or down at their notes for a prolonged period of time.

Here are a few techniques I’ve used, however, that work for students to build confidence:

1) “Above the Treeline” technique

Think of your audience like a forest. Each student represents a tree in said forest. Your job as the speaker is to look just above each “tree.” So instead of glaring riiiiiight into somebody’s eyes, which can set off this awkward chain of public speaking anxiety, start by looking juuuuuuust above the people around the room.

By doing this, you trick both your audience — and yourself — into looking like you’re actually making effective eye contact with everybody in the room. You’re not looking right at Johnny’s eyes, you’re looking just above his head at the sign on the wall behind him. I’ve suggested this technique to several students who struggle with making connected eye contact, and this is the one that helps students see that they CAN make effective eye contact, and that they have a better speech as a result. Think of this as the “fake it ’til you make it” approach.

2) Incremental Approach

I always tell students to stick to the 3-second rule when it comes to both eye contact and “dead air” time. A pause longer than 3 seconds is awkward, and eye contact for longer than 3ish seconds is also pretty awkward.

However, something I suggest for my students struggling with eye contact is to do an incremental approach around the room. At first, I allow students with whom the speaker is comfortable to move around the room in different places. I then suggest that students speak to these students for 3-5 seconds apiece. Then, I suggest they make eye contact with just one other person around the room and then me as well in the back. Then they repeat. Back to the first friend, then the other, then the other, then bam, right back to a new person around the room.

This is a slow approach for students. They understand that they have to make eye contact with the room eventually, but building up to full-on eye contact with the people in the room who provide them the most comfort are the best jumping off point for the speaker. It’s a small strategy, but it can be effective for students who are truly needing a confidence boost.

3) Talk to the wall!

It looks silly. It looks crazy, too. But man, does this help.

I always suggest to students that the best way to work on their eye contact is not only to practice (and by practice, I mean practice practice), but to deliver your speech to the wall.

As a speech team coach, I am used to walking down a hallway and watching a bunch of students delivering their speech to a wall. It’s a perfect strategy for eye contact, as it tricks students into knowing their speech better and being able to deliver their message to the most non-judgmental audience of all: The Wall.

Also recommended: Speaking to a pet! They love what you have to say, and practicing your eye contact can help you feel more confident about your speech.

So, don’t be Christopher Walken on SNL! Use your outline effectively, practice hard, and remember some of these tricks to help you or your students get over their fear of making eye contact with their audience.

Lose the Lectern!