I often get moments of inspiration, insight and resolution when I'm having my morning coffee in Sobo on Tower bridge Road (www.sobogallery.co.uk) and this morning was no exception.

I was just leaving when Alan, who I'm on 'hello' terms with said 'See you soon Stephen'. The tone of his goodbye, I felt, demanded eye contact but because I had already walked past him when he issued it, I just said a breezy goodbye without looking. It could well be that Alan hasn't given the matter a second thought and I hope that's the case. I, however, felt vaguely uneasy about it as soon as I left the shop and I began contemplating the importance and the power of eye contact.

Customer-care trainings always stress the importance of eye contact and it adds meaning to the special occasion tradition of clinking of glasses. A smile from a random stranger in the street has the power to raise the spirit and people who cannot meet your eye are often perceived as shifty.

Some eye contact is second nature to nearly everyone. It could also be that nearly everyone could make more use of eye contact and that it is actually a very useful tool.