Eye contact

Another important influence on communication (in addition to body and voice) is the use of the eyes. Even when we use the body well and the voice is loud and clear, with the words spoken slowly enough, we are not proclaiming the word if we have our heads buried in the lectionary. In real life, communication requires eye contact. Think of situations where you really need to communicate with others—to cheer them, warn them, accuse them—and you will realize that you need eye contact.

You are not reading to the assembly, you are proclaiming the scripture to them and demanding their personal involvement. This expectation of a response comes when you confront the listeners with your eyes. How often have you heard, "Look me in the eye and say that"?

When you truly believe in the reading and want to share it, you will not be afraid to look the congregation in the eye. That means true eye-to-eye contact with the assembly, not just peeking up over the edge of the lectionary without genuine contact.

There is a catch here. It is that sometimes they won't be looking at you. They have their reasons for this. Don't let it bother you. The better you get, the less they will choose to look at anything else.

Of course, it is not possible to look every individual in the assembly in the eye. But you can pick out one at a time. For each phrase or sentence, you can switch your eye contact to an individual in a different part of the church.

Perhaps you wear reading glasses and are not able to see any faces at all. Eye contact is mostly a mind-set: believe that you are speaking face-to-face with an individual. Even when you can't see individuals distinctly, you must look at specific areas and make the listeners feel you are talking to them individually.

The most important point is this: Eye contact does not pay off if you do it just anywhere in the sentence. It is most effective when it comes at the end of a thought or sentence. As you finish the last phrase or word, make the eye contact that invites the personal involvement of your hearers. That involvement is why this element of speaking is so important.