Isaac Failner

Comm 2110
Proposal Assignment
2/13/16

Goal
When talking to others, I will make eye contact and avoid it less.
Rationale
When I talk to anyone I have a tendency to make minimal eye contact. This makes me come
across as extremely shy, or in some cases rude. This negatively impacts my communication with
others.
Strategies
By April 23, 2016 I will demonstrate the following strategies to help me have and maintain eye
contact in my conversations:
(1) I will use Visualization to improve my self-esteem. I will picture myself talking to
people confidently and seeing myself making and maintaining eye contact. (Beebe, 2014,
p. 48
(2) I will engage in Indirect Perception Checking to help myself see that the feeling of
being intimidated by others or seeing them as a threat is irrational. (Beebe, 2014, p. 81)
(3) I will be Mindful of my nonverbal behavior, especially eye contact. (Beebe, 2014, p 214)
(4) I will Ask for feedback about how Im doing with eye contact.

Implementation
I will begin implementing these strategies today. Ill monitor progress by asking friends and
family for feedback. Ill take things at a good pace but a pace where Im not asking too much of
myself. I cant expect myself to go from having minimal eye contact to being great at it. I will
motivate myself by reminding myself that this will be crucial in my ability to get a job and also
dating and getting into a relationship.
Works Cited
Beebe, Beebe, & Redmond. (2014) Interpersonal Communication: Relating to Others.