We’ve all been there—that awkward, “oh shoot, what do I do now moment?” Maybe it’s your tights falling down as you walk across campus, or a poorly worded sentence that came from you or someone else. Whatever the events, we’ve all been in an awkward situation filled with uncomfortable silences, cheeks red from embarrassment, and people avoiding eye contact with each other.
It’s not something that’s anything new, and sometimes it seems like the only way out of a situation like that, especially one where we are the subjects of embarrassment is to run away from the situation as fast as possible. This is sometimes the case, and it’s okay to leave an awkward situation if you truly believe that it is beyond saving. But it’s not the only option.
One other thing to consider in awkward situations is humor. Many, many awkward situations have been diffused by a simple well-timed joke about what was going on. And if you can laugh at yourself, other people will realize that everything is okay, and the awkwardness will go away. It can be hard, learning to laugh at yourself, but once you’ve learned how to do it, it becomes a handy skill that is very useful, especially in awkward situations.
Another thing to remember in awkward situations, especially if you feel like you aren’t funny or can’t laugh at yourself yet, is that people are more self-absorbed than you think. It’s easy to walk away from a horribly awkward situation and assume that everyone there is spending is much time thinking about what happened as you are. It’s easy to assume that that one specific moment is consuming their thoughts as much as it is consuming yours.
The fact of the matter is that about 90 percent of the time, no one else is thinking about it as much as you are. Everyone has their own worries and concerns that eventually take over their minds, so while they may have thought about it for a fleeting moment, the next time that they see you, they’re probably not going to be thinking about the one time you ripped your pants in front of the class.
So the next time that you find yourself in an oh shoot moment, where awkward silence starts to fill the air, just remember that no one will be thinking about it in a few days, and shake yourself off with a laugh.