Life Begun

For some of us, social settings are not the most comfortable place to be. Crowds can freak a lot of people out and it’s generally not something we’re used to doing. But there are certain things you need to keep in mind. Like typical mistakes that the socially challenged fall into again and again. Not good! Here are a few of the most obvious things that you can avoid to help you steer clear of socially awkward situations.

No Small Talk – No matter who you are, you need to have a few small talk options up your sleeve for those socially awkward silences. Usually asking the other person something about themselves can save this one. “Where did you get your shoes?” or “So how do you know the host?” are pretty common ones. Remember to keep a few up your sleeve.

Get Critical – If you’re in a group social setting with people who are not your closest friends, then there is almost no situation where criticizing others is going to be appropriate. Don’t criticize other guests, don’t criticize the food – just steer away from criticizing anything. It will backfire when you find out your new acquaintances organised the food and are friends with the girl wearing the ugly dress!

Dress Inappropriately – Make sure you find out beforehand what the appropriate dress standard is for any social gathering you are going to. Don’t be the odd person out wearing jeans when everyone else is wearing a suit. It is awkward and puts the spotlight on you therefore making the occasion far more stressful. A little planning ahead can help you avoid this one.

Get Blotto – If you can’t act like a normal human being when you drink, then don’t drink in social settings. More careers have been stalled by people ignoring this simple rule than almost any other social mistake.

Photo by Miss Loisy

Ignore People – Never ever ignore people at a social function. You never know who they are or who their friends are, but more importantly it’s just not a nice thing to do. You are better than that. When you are friendly to everyone (even the ones who are not friendly to you) then karma will be kind to you.

Hover Over the Food – Nobody likes a pig. Go to the food, take a small portion and step away. Allowing others to get their share of the onions on a stick goes a long way. And if you hover around the food all evening, people will notice.

Text and Call – If you’re in a social setting then you need to put the phone away unless it’s an emergency. This is becoming such a social mistake that current affairs TV shows are starting to do stories on impolite phone use. Don’t be the person who texts their boyfriend every 2 minutes and backs out of conversations so they can answer their phone. It’s rude. People notice.

Ok, some of these are worse than others are sure, if it’s an emergency or important then it’s ok to use your phone. But be aware that most people find any of the above quite rude. Is that the person you are? Is that the person you want to be? Only you can make that call, but if you’re still reading then chances are this type of thing is important to you and you should take the advice.