⇑Memletics Manual » Process Chapter » Locate » Content searching

What to look for while searching for content

Later in this chapter, I introduce you to two ways to classify content by the way you use it. Once you understand these two ways, you start to realize that many books and courses out there contain little practical content. This is especially true of many self-help and business books. They contain supporting facts, ideas and principles, rather than practical content. Of the ones that do, even fewer contain specific steps or ideas on how to learn that content.

I want to give you a feel for what information you may find while gathering content for training purposes. I’m going to give you some examples of the content you may find in a book on presentation skills, specifically on making eye contact during a presentation. In some of these books, you may find this information:

Example A: The why it’s important book

Good eye contact with the audience is important. It helps the presenter connect with the audience. It also helps the presenter gauge the audience’s reaction to the material. The presenter appears more confident and “in control.”

That’s interesting information. What does good eye contact mean though? It doesn’t tell you! I’ve read some books that go on for pages about why some particular skill is important, citing many examples and research. A better presentation book gives you specific details about what good eye contact means:

Example B: The here’s how to do it book

To develop good eye contact, you first have to stop reading your presentations word for word. It’s difficult to keep good eye contact while you are reading directly from notes. See [some other part of the book] to learn how to do this.

Once you have your notes under control, you then need to get your eyes up and looking at the audience. It’s not just a matter of looking at the back of the room. You need to search out individuals and make eye contact with them.

Hold their attention for two to three seconds, and then move to someone else or back to your notes for the next point. Spread your attention to various parts of the audience. Be sure not to focus in one part of the room, or on one individual, for too long either. This alienates others or makes the individual feel uncomfortable.

If you are presenting to a much larger audience, sometimes it’s difficult to make eye contact with a single individual. The audience may seem more of a blur, especially up the back and in low light conditions. Don’t avoid these areas, as there are still people there. Hold your focus in a particular area for a few seconds, before moving to another.

Can you see the difference between these two examples? Example A doesn’t tell you much about what the skill is, whereas example B does. I’d have even more respect for a presentation book that then went further with information like this:

Example C: The here’s how to learn it book.

Here are some suggestions on how you can learn to make eye contact in your own presentations:

Practice reading a point from your notes and then physically looking up. Put together some meaningless points, and then stand up in your kitchen or other room and practice. Put a mark at the end of each line, for example an up arrow like á, to remind you to look up. When you do look up, look at different parts of the room. If you are in the kitchen, visualize the microwave, stove, sink and refrigerator as members of your audience. Make your point directly to one of these audience members, and then move on to the next point.

Better yet, if you have access to computer image projection equipment, get a picture of an audience from the speaker’s perspective and project it on the wall. Stand facing the screen and practice making eye contact with your captive audience.

Before your next presentation, ask a friend or colleague who will be in the audience to help you out. Have them stand behind the audience and give you gestures to remind you to look around. They may also give you signals to slow down your speaking, stop fidgeting, or to relax your posture. Also, ask them to give you some comments and suggestions after the presentation.

Consider whether the content you find is more like example A, B or C above. Are you getting the “why it’s important,” “here’s how to do it,” or “here’s how to learn it”? This doesn’t just apply to books either. Some training courses and presentations also focus on “why it is important,” rather than covering practical and useful information you can use to build your skills. Memorizing ten points about why good eye contact is important doesn’t necessarily help you improve your own eye contact.

Keep these three examples in mind while you locate content for learning. If the content you find is like example A, you need to find more information to understand what “making eye contact” involves. If it’s example B, that’s fine. You then use Memletics to learn the material. If it’s example C, they are giving you a shortcut!