I used to avoid eye contact without really being aware of it but a couple of years back I started making an effort to look people in the eyes when I spoke or when they spoke to me and it drastically improved my understanding of people.
I'm not sure exactly how to explain it, but looking at people in the eye and not just lazily maintaining eye contact by staring "through" them gives you a better understanding of how people feel about you and the power (or lack of power) that you have over them.
It certainly made me a lot more confident.
(BTW, if you feel awkward doing it, it means you feel a bit intimidated by that person - sometimes this makes sense; i.e. your boss, your girlfriend's father - but if it's happening all the time, you should probably try to figure out why that person intimidates you so much)
Always, my father told me it's the easiest way to make another man bytch up quick.
Your father is a wise man.