being alone with someone you're not really comfortable with

[visibleghost]

yEAH what do you think about thoseReally Awkward moments when you are alone with soomeone you're not really friends with but you still kind of have to have a conversation with them? and how do you handle them?

i'm personally really bad at small talk and conversations. and it gets wayyy worse when it is with someone i'm not comfortable with....
today i sat down at lunch alone, i usually sit with my friends but we're in different math groups and they were late. then a teacher i have in one subject came and she sat down at my table and started small talking........... and i diED ... i answered her questions and tried to ask stuff back but it went really poorly... after 15 minutes my friends arrived and she left to make space for them at my table and Honestly I Have Not Been So Relieved In A Long Time... i was sO uncomfortable the entire time eeedhgbudih

sOo what are your stories?? and do any of you all have any advice for me how to handle situations like this in the future?

 

[Redlatios]

Well, personally i absolutely hate being alone with my mother. She always finds something about me to criticize.

 

[HungryForCereal]

hmm...maybe act sick? like tell them you need to go to the washroom or something or you just dont feel like talking. for me, ill just try to find reasons to excuse myself.

 

[Mega_Cabbage]

Just don't talk to them. Unless someone is holding a gun to your head or something of the like, then you aren't being forced to do anything. I can usually get by with head nods and shrugs and they'll get bored and go away. Either that or always wear headphones. I wear them so that I can pretend I'm busy listening to music and not my mom's constant unneeded comments.

 

[Aquari]

thats how i feel with everyone, even my friends

 

[cIementine]

i just make it worse for myself by sitting in long periods of silence. i like silence, but i forget it's not normal in a social environment where you're expected to make small conversation. it's my fault, really. i should be talking about how it's not too cold and not too warm outside today, and not smiling and nodding awkwardly every time we make eye contact.
yikes, i'm a trainwreck.

 

[cIementine]

double post.

 

[Oldcatlady]

It's ok if it's one on one. I'm decent at small talk... Plus if the person isnt really trying to talk either i just don't force myself. I dislike when im with two people who know each other, but i dont know either of them, and they kinda just make inside jokes and stuff between the two of them so i cant really join the conversation.

 

[AnimalCrossingPerson]

double post.

How did you do that magicalness without the posts merging?! :O

 

[Belle of Pripyat]

How did you do that magicalness without the posts merging?! :O

It's a glitch. It sometimes happens to me when my computer freezes for a couple of seconds. I always report the second post so the mods can delete it.

 

[Soda Fox]

I'm pretty good at small talk, and I don't really find silences awkward either. I just try to keep in mind that however uncomfortable I am, the other person is probably equally so. I just be as polite and pleasant as I can with whoever I'm with, especially if I don't know them very well.

 

[Chibiusa]

The teacher just probably felt bad that they saw you sitting alone. You could have mentioned that your friends were running late or something. No one really likes small talk - it's fine to point that out.

If I have nothing to say to someone I just won't say anything. I'm comfortable in silence - it's not something to be afraid of. People will just mind their own business. if someone keeps trying to ask questions I'll just answer them and let that be it.

 

[ForestaNinfa]

I usually just busy myself with something.
I also wont talk to people I don't enjoy. The only reason I'm good at it is because I work in retail and have no choice but to talk to awful people sometimes.

 

[Tao]

I hate it when you're with a friend and a friend of that friend that you barely know is there, then the friend goes somewhere for whatever reason. You can see it in their eyes, that they're thinking the same as you, whether or not to "wait it out" until the friend comes back or make an excuse that they also need to temporarily go somewhere. You both try to make small talk, but ultimately the wait is on to see who cracks first to the awkward silence and suddenly makes the "I have to take this call" excuse.


Or when I'm waiting at a bus stop with a friend for my bus, then one of their friends come along that I don't know. There's the feeling where I think "I hope they're not getting on my bus", but they do, and my friend parts ways as I decide whether I should sit with this stranger or sit on my own as I wanted to in the first place. Will I seem ignorant? Are they expecting to make a new friend? Are they having the same internal monologues I am right now?

 

[Alienfish]

Well, personally i absolutely hate being alone with my mother. She always finds something about me to criticize.

the same but with my father uuugh.

but yea about small talk i find that easier with strangers.. cause you can try em and they don't know everything about you so

 

[Llust]

i hate being alone with people - even if i'm really close with them, there would always be that moment of silence where i try figuring out what to say. what i tend to do is bring up an inside joke, offer to do something stupid like try to see who can slap each others ass the most - just avoid apologizing for being awkward. i used to do that and it really depends on the person, but i personally dont like it when people always bring up the fact that theyre socially awkward or whatever - that just makes it more awkward and i know a lot of people who do that. if you can, try getting someone else to join in with you or make an excuse to leave

 

[Shimmer]

I'm pretty good at small talk. I can sit and talk about anything with anyone. You just act really laid back and just blab about nothing.

 

[Zane]

One time I was at my sister's house and a couple of her friends came over while she was in the shower and I was like oh hi she's in the shower rn.. and then we all just stood there for a minute in silence and they went back outside to wait for her LOL
That was a few years ago I like to think I could just bs some small talk now. ?\_(ツ)_/? But if it was someone I didn't like/wasn't comfortable with then I probably just wouldn't bother.

 

[pandapples]

If it's someone you don't really talk to you can just look bored and give short answers. They're likely to get the hint...

If you actually want to make small talk with someone but just find it difficult.. I have like no advice because I also hate small talk. I use my method above, but I have to throw in a smile in there to be somewhat polite.

 

[KaydeeKrunk]

I am NOT a social creature, I avoid social gatherings and the like as much as possible, because yeah, I don't know how to be a human... it's not who I am meant to be I swear. I don't like being left alone with anyone who I don't really properly know especially because I can't deal with most people's personalities... so usually I just sit silently or try to do something like use my phone or rub my fingers awkwardly and hope they leave or that someone I know comes.