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#29 Not Looking...
Your eyes are awesome!
Pretty,
too! Smile!
Your power to communicate with each student is increased dramatically
when you use eye
contact for 2 to 5 seconds.
Many researchers say the...
#1 communication
skill of a
teacher is eye contact.
NOT just fleeting eye dart, but eye contact for 2 to 5 seconds that says to your student... "You're
important to me! What I have to communicate is important, too!
So, listen and learn."
If your eyes dart from student to student, that is a mistake.
Until you use this incredible teaching tool, you'll never experience
the WOW
factor
it creates in your classroom. Yep... a gentle gaze for 2 to 5 seconds is the tool of choice for teachers
who want their classroom to come alive! Really alive!!!
Oh, yes... I
know it sound beyond simple, and it is a simple concept. But,
it is extremely difficult to implement consistently... daily.
You can do it!
The eye contact must be maintained for 2 to 5 seconds, this is absolutely critical. If you
look into a student’s eyes at all... most of the time, it is for less than
one second. That's
called fleeting eye dart!
The main objective of eye contact is to say to the student, “I’m talking
to you, and you are important to me!”
If you
maintain eye contact for less than 2 seconds, the one-on-one
communication never takes place. Your students never becomes
part of the learning process. They're only passive listeners....NOT
involved learners...
Why do
most teachers and students avoid eye contact?
Because it is difficult to look into another human being’s
eyes without touching their hearts. The concept is difficult
to explain, but you’ve experienced the uneasy feeling of
looking into someone’s eyes if only for a fraction of a
second.
It takes courage to look into another human's eyes... especially
for 2 to
5 seconds.
Do you have the courage to try?
The skill of maintaining gentle and caring eye contact is essential
for you to maintain your effectiveness as a teacher. Increase
your joy for teaching by increasing your eye contact from less
that a second to 2
to 5 seconds!!!
Tired of reading 2
to 5 seconds...?
Hope not... 'cause that's
the point!
Take Me
Back to
the...
Table of Contents...
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 Eye contact, like any
skill, takes time and practice to develop. The skill of eye
contact takes tons of courage to implement and perfect.
The best way to start your practice session is to stare at an
inanimate object, because an inanimate object doesn’t stare
back. You don't experience the uneasy feelings. But you do get
a sense of just how long 2 to 5
seconds really is... It's a LONG TIME!
The key is the amount of time you gaze at the object, regardless
of how you may feel.
Start at 5 seconds. Pick an object, preferably a small one within
three feet. Gently gaze at the object and count to 5 slowly.
If you had a tendency to look away, that’s normal. Try it again.
Next practice with your spouse or child. Spouse's are normally
considered inanimate objects. So you can practice with him lots
and lots. During your next conversation with a loved one, concentrate
on maintaining gentle,
kind, and caring eye contact... Not a stare!
Odds are, he will stop and ask you what’s the matter. When
you make eye to eye contact, instantly you feel a gnawing feeling
that forces you to make eye contact with the top of your shoes.
That’s normal. But, fight the urge!
You’ll overcome the feeling with a little effort and practice.
The beauty of this skill is you can develop and perfect it with
time and practice... it will serve you for your entire teaching
career.
This one single communication skill helps make you a spectacular
teacher and effective communicator. Overcome the feelings of
being uncomfortable, and the skill of eye contact will be yours.
Remember... "Practice
makes Pleasant!" I just made that one up. What do you think? Be
gentle.
The Eyes have it,
Karl
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