For everyone accustomed to getting information by television, eye contact is a key connection between people. The newscasters and talk show hosts read information as they look through teleprompters to a camera. This manner of receiving and processing information has dramatically changed the value of eye contact.
Standards are higher.
In our culture, eye contact signifies trust, confidence, and believability. But eye contact is meaningful in every culture. In other cultures, the absence of direct contact signifies deference to those more powerful. The eyes are the windows of the soul. You of course need to use rock solid eye contact when you are speaking to a live audience or in one on one conversations.