socialising

The Social Skills I’ve Picked Up As A Socially Awkward Person

/ Stuart Danker / 36 Comments

A blur image of

First off, let me start by saying that I haven’t been socialising on WordPress at all. So if I’ve yet to reply to your comment, I’m super sorry. I’ll get around to that, I promise.

It’s just that life has thrown me a new challenge to overcome, and that’s meeting ten to twenty new people a week, not just in a touch-and-go capacity, but to actually hold a conversation for minutes. Minutes!

Of course, as a self-proclaimed introvert, I might as well crawl over broken glass, or worse, have a smudge on my spectacles that I can’t clean for the entire day.

But I knew what I’d signed up for when I accepted the role of deputy editor for a lifestyle magazine. Going to events was part of the deal. We have to represent our magazine, after all.

Which is why for today, I’m going to list the things I’ve learned by stumbling through the foreign art (at least to me) that is socialising.

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Your Fear Of Looking Stupid May Be Holding You Back

/ Stuart Danker / 53 Comments

Woman covering her face in embarrassment

I’m terrible at small talk. You know why I think so? Because I wouldn’t want to have a conversation with me.

So I’ve come to accept how people’s eyes glaze over as they seek the most polite form of exit. And I know why they get unnerved too. Because I’m one shift-eyed dude.

For some reason, I can never get my facial expressions to react accordingly. Because of that, I tend to overthink, and what results is usually just me twitching at the lips when I should be smiling.

Why am I telling you all this? Because the past few months have taught me a lot about socialising. Which is a big deal because I tend to be a hermit.

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