How do I help my friends get better?

I recently got Eclipse: Second Dawn. I've started tracking my plays - I have 12 games across a variety of player counts (2, 3, 4, 5), and of those I've won 8. I've won with each race.

Now, it's a fantastic game and everyone else has enjoyed playing. But I don't like mopping the floor with everyone every time - I want some real competition! Recently I won 56-33-32 (and I could have won with a bigger margin, though a lower score, had I attacked both opponents on the last turn) and then played a couple of 2 player games where my opponent resigned turns 6 and 5, respectively. My losses have been close and many of my wins have been blowouts.

My opponents aren't poor board game players: I frequently play War of the Ring with my brother and he wins ~60% of the time; and the others are similar (we each have our strong suits, of course). So I've really got two questions:

1. What am I doing (in Eclipse specifically) that makes me win? What are good tips for new players? I don't think I really understand the game enough to spot all of my good decisions (or my opponents' poor ones).

2. How do I bring my opponents up to my level? I thought that the Erdani, being harder to play, would help make up the difference, but my win with them came in the 56-point 3-player win. I'm not interested in handicapping myself or intentionally playing poorly, I just want strong opponents!