Eye contact is looking straight into somebody's eyes while you talk. A small thing that carries an enormous amount.
How much is expected varies sharply between cultures, and what reads as honest attention in one place reads as rudeness or challenge in another, which makes it one of the commonest sources of misunderstanding between strangers. Autistic people often find it uncomfortable, and insisting on it is no longer considered good practice. The phrases are fixed: making eye contact, avoiding eye contact, holding somebody's gaze.
1nouneye contactThe act of looking directly into another person's eyes.
“He avoided eye contact for the whole interview.”