I have always been a big believer in the importance of non-verbal communication.  Today I had an experience that reinforced this belief.

In my World History class we had a guest-lecturer that completely avoided looking at the students while he was lecturing.  There are a ton of students, so this is a difficult feat.  He managed it by looking at the wall above our heads, or at his notes, or down at the ground.  A couple students raised their hands to ask questions, but they were ignored because the professor couldn’t see that their hands were up.  I found the behavior so distracting that it was hard to focus on the actual content of his lecture.

Eye-contact is key.  If you don’t make eye-contact, people will assume one of three things: 1) You are autistic.  2) You are bored and uninterested.  3) You are very uncomfortable or insecure.  In the case of my professor, I would have to go with #3.  His hands were not shaky and his words were clear, but by avoiding all eye-contact with the students, he was sending a signal that he was insecure, either as a general aspect of his personality or maybe just in this situation lecturing to a couple hundred students.  This is an unfortunate habit of his lecture style, and I am sure he is totally unaware of it.  But his audience sure is, and someone should have told him about it ages ago.

Make eye-contact both as a listener and as a speaker.  It is possibly more important than the words you say or any verbal response you may give.  If this is difficult for you, work on it.  Make a conscious attempt.  Do not underestimate the importance of non-verbal communication.

Your response: