YC. (Young Chautauqua, Colorado-style)

 

(Continued from home page)

By Phoebe Stoye

 

Have you ever been talking to someone when suddenly they glance down at their phone?  It seems like they're checking the time, or their text messages—either way, they seem like they’re not interested in what you’re saying.

 

Maybe that’s not true—but the interruption definitely makes you feel that way.  And nowadays, with so much technology and social media, it’s hard to not get interrupted while having a conversation.  In fact, people regularly only make eye contact between 30% and 60% of the time, while they should be making eye contact at least 70% of the time (according to Quantified Impressions as seen in the Wall Street Journal).

 

Researchers say it’s become socially acceptable to multitask while talking to someone, but it hinders emotional contact.  The “ideal gaze,” they say, would last 7 to 10 seconds, and would make the other person feel much more personally connected.

And in a situation like Young Chautauqua, personal connection is one of the most important keys to a great performance.  Don’t you want your audience to laugh when you do something funny, cry when you’re sad, and in the end, feel like they’ve known you their whole lives?  Eye contact may be the perfect way to do that—and if you’re pretending to be from the past, there isn’t any Facebook, Instagram, texting, or Youtube: conversation and storytelling are the most social part of anyone’s day.

You don’t have to single out one person and talk to him or her for the entire performance, but be sure to make eye contact with different audience members continuously.  Who knows—you might fool someone into thinking you’re really a well-practiced, mature public speaker! (Not saying you aren’t mature or something…but you know.)