How can you ensure everyone in your group makes effective eye contact during presentations?

1 Plan your roles and transitions

Before you start your presentation, make sure everyone in your group knows their roles and responsibilities. Assign each member a specific section or topic to cover, and decide how you will transition from one speaker to another. This will help you avoid awkward pauses, overlaps, or confusion during the presentation. It will also help you coordinate your eye contact, as you can signal to your co-presenters when you are ready to hand over the floor, and when you need their support or feedback.

2 Practice as a group

One of the best ways to improve your eye contact skills is to practice as a group. You can rehearse your presentation in front of a mirror, a camera, or a friendly audience, and ask for feedback on your eye contact. You can also record your practice sessions and watch them later to identify areas for improvement. Pay attention to how often and how long you look at your co-presenters and your audience, and how you use your facial expressions, gestures, and voice to complement your eye contact.

3 Use the 50/50 rule

A good rule of thumb for making eye contact during a group presentation is to use the 50/50 rule. This means that you should spend about 50% of your time looking at your audience, and 50% looking at your co-presenters. This will help you create a connection with both parties, and show that you are interested and involved in the presentation. However, you should avoid staring or glancing too quickly, as this can make you seem nervous or rude. Instead, try to look at each person for about three to five seconds, and move your eyes smoothly and naturally.

4 Adapt to the situation

Sometimes, you may need to adjust your eye contact depending on the situation. For example, if you are presenting online, you may need to look more at the camera than at your co-presenters or the screen, as this will create a more direct and personal impression. If you are presenting in a large or dimly lit room, you may need to look more at the front or center of the audience than at the sides or back, as this will make you more visible and audible. If you are presenting in a Q&A session, you may need to look more at the person who asked the question than at the rest of the audience, as this will show that you are listening and answering their query.

5 Relax and enjoy

Finally, remember to relax and enjoy your presentation. Eye contact is not only a skill, but also an attitude. If you are confident, enthusiastic, and passionate about your topic, your eye contact will reflect that. Don't worry too much about making mistakes or forgetting your lines, as these are normal and human. Instead, focus on the message and the purpose of your presentation, and how you can share it with your audience and your co-presenters. By doing so, you will make your presentation more engaging, effective, and memorable.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?