Do you look into a person’s eyes when he or she is speaking to you? I rarely do. My attention is drawn to the moving part: the mouth. Oh I’ll check out the cheeks and the chin and the lines around lips and eyes, but it’s the amazing mobility of mouth/lips/tongue that can mesmerize me. (And years ago, when I bathed with my babies and talked to their upside-down faces in my lap, oh my how undulating-beautiful is a child’s face when the chin’s at the top and the eyebrows are smiling at you.)

It’s different when you are speaking to a group. Then you’re the face that is moving. You will probably find the eyes of your audience distracting. I recommend that you aim your gaze at foreheads. They’ll think you’re meeting their eyes.

(It’s also important to rehearse. Either before a mirror or a video camera.)

When you’re in a people-watching situation, like on public transportation or waiting in an airport, do you amuse yourself by imagining the strangers naked? I’ll give you a game that’s more fun than that. Try switching their genders. Envision the men as women and the women as men. What adjustments are necessary to their faces and frames? How many require surprisingly few alterations?