44 Tips That Socially Awkward 20-Somethings Should Use To Make More Friends

10. Succinct communication. I’ll often overhear people telling stories which include impertinent details or leave out crucial details, without realizing how irritating this can be. One of my good friends had this issue, in that he’d always try to protract stories to 3X the required length. I drunkenly told him how it was aggravating listening to him struggle to maintain focus in his storytelling/briefing, and that he should work on getting to the point, especially when speaking to senior executives strapped for time. He told me he hadn’t even realized he was doing it, and later thanked me for pointing it out.

11. Ironically, I have found that socially awkward people tend to struggle with silence. They get visibly uncomfortable and I imagine it’s because they are overthinking the scenario. Socially fluent people are usually like that because the conversations they have are natural and they do not try to force things. If I am with someone and neither of us have anything to talk about, I have no issue with the quiet. This seems to be especially true in relationships. You know you are with the right person when you can talk for hours and not get sick of each other, but you can also be in each other’s presence without a word being said and still enjoy it.