The One Thing to Remember About Eye Contact When Presenting Online
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When presenting online, eye contact will most likely be the largest shift. One theme that we consistently heard from our interviewees was how awkward it feels for students and clients making the transition to be looking at people on a computer screen, not at their faces in person. Sometimes, only being able to look at one small area (your computer screen) makes it feel like the eye contact is intense—like a staring contest. In fact, Aaron Beverly, 2019 Toastmasters World Champion of Public Speaking, told us, “The biggest adjustment that I had to make is honestly looking at the camera lens. That was really a struggle for me…sometimes I will look slightly off-camera to relieve participants of the eye contact.” However, when you are looking at the computer screen, you aren’t technically “making eye contact” in the same way that you would in person, because your camera lens is usually somewhere above your computer screen. So even though looking at the screen means you can see participants’ faces, it will not appear that you are looking at them. The only way to simulate “in person” eye contact is for you to look at the camera lens when you are speaking.
Let’s take a moment to highlight that. Eye contact in this medium means that you look directly into the lens of your camera—NOT at the computer screen. Remember the following phrase as you practice: Eye to Eye. In other words, your eyes on the eye of the camera.
Not only does looking into the camera feel awkward at first (because it technically means that you are not looking at the screen or the faces of any of the participants), but the amount of time you are required to do so can feel unnatural as well. Most presenters want to look at their other monitor, to the faces of participants online, or down at their notes or script.
The challenge with these approaches is that they are the equivalent of looking away from your audience in a live presentation. And everyone reading this post understands what it feels like when presenters look at the screen or down at the ground—it communicates nerves, a lack of confidence, a lack of preparation, and at times, a lack of experience presenting online.
There are a few common mistakes that we consistently observe when watching online presentations. In these instances, the presenter:
has not placed their camera at eye level (Maria once had a student whose laptop had a built-in camera lens that was integrated into the keyboard…that was odd placement for a conversation!).
has placed their camera at an odd angle.
has not checked how their glasses impact eye contact with their audience.
looks down, up, or to the side for long periods of time.
reads the entire presentation, which means that their eyes are looking at the screen and moving methodically from left to right.
Eye contact is critical. It’s the glue that keeps people engaged, and it’s a reminder to your audience that you are speaking to them—not out into the void. By engaging the audience through eye contact, you have the opportunity to connect, build rapport, and involve participants. Maintain steady eye contact with the camera (at least 85% of the time). It will take some time to adjust, but your audience deserves your best!
p.s. There is an innovative product called Plexicam (plexicam.com) that will truly help. Listen to Scott’s conversation with co-founder Dan Keldsen to learn more!
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We explore this topic and others in our new book Captovation: Online Presentations by Design.