Q&A for How to Be Less Awkward

Find a friend who's willing to role play different social situations with you. This will help you feel comfortable when you're in the real world!

Keep your body language open and inviting! Be sure to make eye contact, rest your arms at your sides, keep your shoulders back, and offer a soft smile.

Prepare in advance a few sentences about who you are, what you do for a living, and what you're most passionate about in life. Being able to share this info efficiently will immediately raise your self-esteem and confidence while also giving off a great first impression to others.

Leave when you feel like you need to, when it feels like the right moment. Always mention that you're needing to go home, get to an appointment, return to your studies, or whatever, as a segue into saying goodbye to them. If you're intimate, a kiss before you go is nice and for anyone, a hug or a handshake can be a nice way to end the encounter. Then leave promptly, as dragging it out creates awkwardness.

Sometimes just mentioning the awkward silence will break it and make you both laugh. Mention something going on at the moment, or something interesting in the place you are. If you go to the same school, talking about teachers you both dislike, something unfair, or how bad the school lunches are, are usually good conversation starters. Remember, he probably feels uncomfortable with the silence too and will be willing to talk about almost anything you bring up.

Focus on just talking and hanging out, don't put so much thought into it. He probably won't care that your a little awkward sometimes, he's undoubtedly going to feel that way himself sometimes.

No. You will likely get in trouble for this and you won't be able to finish the test. Try to take slow, deep breaths. Breathe in for 4 seconds, hold it for 7 seconds, then breathe out for 8 seconds. Do it a few times. It might also help to ask the teacher if you can go to the restroom to calm down and splash some water on your face.

People love a good listener. If you two are conversing, look at him while he speaks, and smile/pay attention. People love to be heard, and a good listener is just as valuable, if not more valuable, than a "good talker." Show the person that you are interested in them and what they are saying. Ask questions. You don't have to talk a whole lot.

Be confident and make it seem like you have nothing to be scared of. It is just ordering food and if the waiter is snooty, ignore the fake intelligence, they're just bringing you food on a plate. And if you mess up, take it with dignity and laugh it off -- "Oh how clumsy my words are today!".

Smile and don't look like you feel awkward. Even though you feel awkward, doesn't mean you have to show it!

Ask her why she says your awkward. Tell her that you truly don't understand and you sincerely want to know how to change.

Start with small talk questions such as: "How was your day?" or "What did you do today?" or "What's the weather like where you are?" Once you get past that it will be easier to have a conversation. The more you talk to them, the less awkward it will be. Also, use FaceTime so you can read their facial expressions. Remember to smile a lot and act happy to see them.

First of all, how is he your boyfriend if he doesn't even know if he likes you? Talk it out with him and tell him how you feel. Don't be too pushy because he will feel awkward.

Be yourself, and if he can't accept you for you, that's his loss. Try making small talk or ask him about his interests, favorite classes, activities, etc.

Greet them with a friendly hug and a "hey." They're probably feeling just as nervous as you are.

Try doing something fun with her. Experiences bond people much better than just talking.

Comment on the weather, ask him how his weekend was or what his plans for the next weekend are, or ask him about his hobbies and see if you share any interests.

Get a stress ball or another fidget toy to mess around with while you are talking to people.

You can bring up a topic that you might've seen somewhere that day, or something you haven't talked about before. Or maybe change things up and play "Ask Me Something" if it comes to an awkward silence.

Try to have a reasonable conversation and ask them why they want you to change. Explain your reasons for being the way you are, but listen to their side too. Try to come to a compromise together about what behaviors you can change.

Break the silence! When you guys go to hug goodbye tell him something like, "I had fun hanging out today." Depending on how long you both have been dating tell him you'll miss him when you go in for the hug. Try starting up conversations. Being shy sometimes can get in the way, but maybe he is just as shy as you are, and is waiting for you to make the first move.

It takes two, but no one can expect the other to know beforehand what they want. You start, they answer, and you sense if they want to talk or not. So whenever you feel like starting a conversation, feel free to do so, just take a hint. If they don't want to talk, end it with, "Great, nice talking for a bit, talk again soon!". Even if you do know beforehand that the other person doesn't want to talk, you do want to and that is a valid reason to at least try and start a conversation. You are a person, too.

The awkwardness increases the longer you wait. So really, as soon as you think you like someone, say hi. But it will always be awkward, no matter how fast you say something. And that's OK; you know it will be awkward when someone says hi to you in that way, but we forgive each other for it, because it's a chance at love. Also, the smaller the thing is you ask from him, the easier it will be to give it to you. Compare: "Hi, what's your name? Do you have the time?" and "Hi, what's your name, do you want to marry me?" Go slow, keep it simple and short.

You're going to have to pace yourself. Our minds present us with a million things to say, and we want to just push it through our mouth all at once. Look up information density as well, and increase that. It's where you try to say the same amount of information with fewer words. News broadcasts often have a high information density. You could also practice this by answering questions on wikiHow, as you'll be forced to reduce your answers to the limited number of characters allowed. If you force yourself to speak more slowly, all the other issues will evaporate.

Don't we all! It's such a frustrating experience. You're all confident, savvy and quick-witted, except when it gets down to it! You could cherish those moments when you do have an awesome reply and focus on remembering those to change the way you see yourself as awkward, thus removing that obstacle of hesitating when it's time to speak up. You could also memorize just a few good responses, instead of all of them. Finally, look into the memory system of 'coat hangers', where you don't remember everything, but each thing is attached to another, and remembering one also brings back the next thing.

Check out wikiHow to Start a Conversation with a Guy , Start a Good Conversation , or even Start a Conversation When You Have Nothing to Talk About for some great advice on that very subject.

Say ''It was nice talking to you'' or ''I've got to run, bye'' and then leave without looking back.

Ask her things like "how was your day?" and "what did you do?" Talk about common interests such as music or sports. If you have only been going out for a bit, then ask her questions to get to know her better (maybe find out what she likes and dislikes and what her hobbies are and things like that).

Instead of focusing on others, get to know yourself. Learn all your individual quirks through conversations in your head/in the mirror. Others cannot love you unless you love yourself. Be confident. Be happy. Be you. Not the awkward you. The best you you can ever hope to be. Worst comes to worst, fake it till you make it.

Considering that you still greet each other, you could be off to a good start. If you have their number, try to shoot them a text saying that you miss hanging out and want to know how they've been. If you happen to see them sitting alone and they don't seem busy, you could also ask to sit with them and mention this in person. Either way, this could be helpful in getting the two of you to reconnect and catch up on each other's lives.