Eye contact is an important part of human communication. It’s highly esteemed in Western cultures. And we’ve been taught that it’s crucial in public speaking. And it is. But new research is showing that it might not be as important to lock eyes with our audience as we were initially taught.
Today, we’ll explore new research coming out of Edith Cowan University which found that “people don’t need to mindfully look at the eyes of their audience to be perceived as making eye contact during face-to-face conversation.”
The Study
The research was headed up by Dr. Shane Rogers, from ECU’s School of Arts and Humanities. In the study, researchers tracked the eye movements of 46 participants during 4-minute conversations using Tobii eye tracking glasses.
The participants were divided into 2 groups. The first group was instructed to stare primarily into the eyes of the person with whom they were conversing. And the second group was instructed to stare primarily at the mouth of the person with whom they were conversing. Following the conversations, participants had to rate their interactions. This involved questions about how much they enjoyed the conversation as well as how much they thought the speaker had looked into their eyes.
Interestingly, researchers found no significant difference between the two groups’ results. Both groups rated the perceived eye contact and enjoyment of conversation similarly. Dr. Rogers said this demonstrates that we have a limited capacity to determine a speaker’s exact gaze and we “perceive direct gaze towards [the] face as eye contact.”
What Does This Mean?
So what does this new research mean for those of us who give presentations in front of audiences? First, eye contact is still important. In Western culture, eye contact still has an important role to play in communication. We still view direct eye contact as a sign of credibility and dominance. It also helps us to initiate conversation and end it. Lack of eye contact can also make us appear submissive or dishonest.
But as the ECU research above showed, it means you can take some pressure off of yourself when it comes to eye contact. As a speaker, you’ve got a lot of things to worry about, but accomplishing a laser gaze into the eyeballs of everyone in the audience doesn’t have to be one of them. Gaze in the general direction of the eyes or the mouth, and you’ll be fine. And so will your audience. But do note that research has shown that gazing at the hairline, or forehead as some speakers were taught, isn’t the best strategy. Studies have shown that it’s “easier to notice when someone’s gaze is fixated on your hairline than when it’s fixated on your mouth.”
Dr. Rogers summed up his new findings perfectly when he said, “So don’t get hung up on seeking out the eyes of your audience, just look generally at their face, and let the eye contact illusion experienced by your partner do the work for you.” We couldn’t agree more.
At Ethos3, we are serious about uncovering new research that helps us build and deliver better presentations. How can we can help you today?
