Public speaking is bad enough for many people, but to have to make eye contact with their audience can be brutal. That is when the eyes shift more and the speaker’s eyes begin to dart around even more looking for an avenue of escape rather than contact with the audience. The audience will notice that discomfort and become uncomfortable themselves, and the vicious cycle will continue.
Some feel that they can avoid the problem and fool their audience by looking over their heads or at the clock in the back of the room, but to the audience it only looks like you are looking over their heads or at the clock in the back of the room.
Some presenters and facilitators also have a favorite side. That means that they simply prefer looking left or looking to the right. Make sure that you look at all the audience with your body, not just your head otherwise you might look like you’re on auto-robot.
There is only one way to overcome this problem and succeed at the same time. Make “eye connect” with everyone, or as many as you can. As soon as the participant you are looking at makes eye contact with you, disengage and look at another person. This shows that you are not willing to leave anyone out, and you are not staring. You are letting each person know that they are a part of your audience or class.