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

17. If somebody is hovering around your group at a party, notice it. Don’t pretend they’re not, and don’t ignore it. And don’t let them keep standing there waiting for somebody to let them in. Help that person. Make space for them and say, “Hey, I’m [name]. And you?” They’ll say their name. Then you go, “We were just talking about [topic],” and make a point to include them.

When I see a group where everybody ignores the person who clearly wants to join, I judge the social skills of the people doing the ignoring. All truly excellent gatherings include at least one person who goes around making sure nobody is lonely or scared, and then greasing the social wheels for anyone who is. (Obviously some people don’t want to join in, and that’s fine. But I’m not talking about them.)

18. Knowing the time and place for jokes and meme references.

I work for a environmental conservation company, sometimes we deal with pretty heavy situations. For example, we were talking about a terrible soil survey and how it was going to be affecting this farmers’ field and livelihood. My coworker looks at us and dead ass says: ‘F in the chat am I right?’

Extreme example, but holy hell I was mentally scared from the cringe.