How to be less awkward

As a small, strange human being with rather small hands and feet — I’m pretty awkward. In addition, I’m often tentative, unsure of myself, indecisive and sporadically shy. This results in the occasional awkward moment when I’m in a social environment. Over my years of experience, I’ve developed a few techniques that can reduce the uneasy awkwardness.

1. Either don’t initiate any hugs or handshakes, or initiate all of them. Part of being awkward is devastatingly bad timing and hesitance when extending a hand or arms to greet someone. Nothing is more embarrassing than trying to play off being snubbed, so don’t even put yourself in that position. If you can’t firmly decide to either go in for the fist bumps, high fives, embraces etc. — don’t bother! Extending a hand and having it return to yourself untouched is easily in life’s ten most embarrassing moments.
2. Always keep your phone on you. An awkward person with a cell phone in a social environment is the reason awkward people haven’t died of awkwardness. You’re instantly resourceful. It allows us the ability to occupy ourselves using different apps and games or pretending to be texting. This serves as a brilliant coping mechanism to deal with being in an awkward situation.
3. Be early. If you’ve ever shown up to an event late, you’re aware of how difficult it can be to involve yourself into the festivities. Everyone seems to already be with each other and you struggle to take part in conversations. If you arrive early, there’s nobody there who you haven’t met so, you’re in a position to be the most popular person in the joint.
4. Ask questions. Some aren’t great at conversing; others become particularly nervous speaking to certain individuals. A helpful way to avoid babbling, stumbling over your words, and coming off as a tense person is to put the pressure on others. Let them talk. All you do is listen, and generate a response in the form of a question. They describe their boring stories of fishing with their father as a child for 10 minutes, then you ask “How large was the biggest fish you ever caught?” Boom! Another 10 minutes of conversation generated. Eventually you’ll grow more comfortable and feel ready to discuss yourself as well.
5. Don’t try to be funny. If you’re uncertain about the sense of humour those you’re interacting with have, don’t tell jokes. Most of the time around the wrong people they come off as uncalled for or inappropriate. Know or have a good idea of the mood and feel of your surroundings before practicing your stand-up routine.
6. Don’t think about screw-ups. Emphasize your attention on the positive parts of your experience. While it can be difficult to make it through a social event when certain things have gone wrong, or you’ve embarrassed yourself focus on what’s gone right. Be positive. Encouraging you and recognizing that you’ve done well in some areas will go a long way.
7. Worry less about others’ opinions. Obviously that’s easier said than done, but you’ve got to. You must force yourself to refrain from caring. If we’re worried in advance about what he or she will think of us, we’ll try to live up to their expectations (which are probably incredibly high, if they were created by our self-conscious minds). It’ll be straining and that rarely ever works out well. Keep it natural and authentic. Although there is one thing you can force…
8. Be extraordinarily friendly. Smile. Smile some more. Then follow that up with a little more smiling. Seriously, people thoroughly enjoy being around a flat out nice, happy person. That’s why Will Smith and Ellen DeGeneres are so appealing. Even if you start out imitating happiness, eventually it can turn into the real thing. Sometimes pretending like you know what you’re doing leads to somehow, actually knowing what you’re doing. It’s the same with emulating joy. Fake it ‘til it’s real.
9. Don’t try to ease the awkward silences. When something uncomfortable or rude is said whether it’s by yourself or another person silence may occur. When nobody is laughing at a punch line, or has no response to a slightly offensive comment, don’t even attempt to fill that void. Doing so can, and probably will result in some excruciating discomfort. There truly are some instances where silence is golden especially if it’s somebody else who’s responsible for the awkward quietness. However, if you initiated the anxiousness, just wait a few seconds and a new topic will arise.
10. Get out of the house! It’s a lot easier to say something bold over Facebook chat than it is in person. As a result, our generation has spawned a massive amount of awkwardness. Many don’t feel comfortable functioning in public, or holding a conversation that’s not behind a keyboard. The only way to get used to social environments is repetition. The more you talk to people face-to-face, the easier it’ll get. As an occasionally anxious person, I assure you that this can be done if you have confidence.

Sorry if this article isn’t as good as some of my others as I haven’t been very active recently but that’s me, I’m back now. I hope this article somewhat helped you. Feel free to check out any of my other articles dotted around the site.
Lots of love, Nicole xxx