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I am unconfortable with eye contact. I usually look at someones teeth when I speek to them. Any helpful hints in developing my skills in eye contact?
Benjamin,
yes we want to make that eye contact & maintain it, but definitely not in an intimidating way.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Hi Michelle,
I have read that, in humans, eye contact is very rarely made eye to eye. I usually look toward the student, and maintain the face to face interaction, while slightly breaking the eye contact when I am thinking of a response to a student question. This shows that I am attentive to their question while maintaining the human connection at the appropriate time. Unfortunately, some form of eye contact is essential to show that you are connected to the student when talking with them.
I agree, eye contact is important- it allows me to to see if they are engaged, or have a "deer in the headlight" look.
Michelle,
Unfortunately there's no special trick here. The best thing is to just practice, start with folks you are most comfortable with & then practice with others. Just be conscious of it.
Dr. Ryan Meers