5 ways to connect with people

Exploring how to use your voice and body on stage will help you tackle the most important piece of giving a powerful talk: connecting with your audience.

People aren't computers. They're social creatures with all kinds of unique traits.

Your first job as a speaker is to build a trusting human bond with your audience.

There are many ways to do that. Here are five suggestions: 1. Make eye contact.

Make eye contact with members of your audience right from the start of your talk and continue making eye contact throughout.

Humans learn a lot about one another through eye contact.

Our brains can detect the tiniest muscle movements in someone else's eyes.

We use that information to figure out all sorts of things— like how that person is feeling and whether or not we can trust them.

And while we’re doing that, they’re figuring out the same things about us.

Scientists have even shown that when two people stare at one another, their brains start to adopt the same emotional state.

So when we make eye contact, our minds link up.

2. Show vulnerability. One of the best ways to put an audience at ease is to reveal your own vulnerability.

It’s like a tough cowboy walking into a saloon and opening his coat to show he's not carrying any weapons.

Everyone relaxes. Take this example from Ethan Lisi, who spoke at a TED-Ed Student Talks event in 2020. “Another common stereotype that is often associated with autism is that autistic people lack empathy.