Someday you might do a talk where you use notes, or you have a teleprompter. If you do, please think about this:

Our instinct is to look at the next thing we have to say as we’re coming to the end of the current thing we’re saying. We sort of capture the rest of the sentence in our mind, and we’re saying it on autopilot while we glance at the next bit.

When we do this, we break eye contact with the audience at the end of our thought. Often, that’s precisely when we’re landing an important point, or making a crucial connection. The impact of what we’re saying is diminished when we look down or away to check our notes. 

Instead, hold the eye contact through the end of the line. In the tiny pause before the next sentence, look at your notes or at the teleprompter. 

You’ve got the audience in the palm of your hand–don’t look away!