When I was a kid, about 5 years old, my mom used to take my brother and me to the McDonald’s.

At that point, we lived in Oakland, California, just a few miles across the bay from downtown San Francisco.

The three of us would get on the subway, ride it across the bay into SF, and then go to the McDonald’s for lunch.

(By the way, the first time we took that subway, I was really excited to hear that the subway went under the bay. I thought that if I looked out the window, I would see fish swimming in the water outside. I didn’t learn until later that the subway went through a tunnel under the bay, not through the bay itself.)

Anyway, on that subway one day, I was really hungry. I saw a man eating a sandwich, and I stared at him. I couldn’t take my eyes off that sandwich, it looked so good. My mom saw what I was doing, nudged my shoulder, and said, “Matt, don’t stare at that man, it’s not polite to stare.”

And that was how I learned not to stare at people.

Here is what that has to do with your presentations:

People are like dogs. If you stare at a dog long enough, it’ll attack.

Often you hear presentation trainers telling you how important it is to make eye contact with your audience.

However, you need to break that eye contact sometimes. Every once in a while, look away for a moment, even if it’s just to glance at the wall or shuffle some papers.

Remember, people are like dogs. If you stare at one long enough, it will perceive in you hostility and aggressive intent that may not actually exist, and it will become hostile and aggressive towards you in return.