Short YouTube advice clip by Dr. Aziz explaining how to recover from feeling awkward in a conversation. He advises quickly naming the feeling in calm, non-dramatic language (e.g., "I'm feeling a little nervous"), then redirecting attention outward toward the other person using a simple question (example: "So what's been the highlight of your week?") to re-engage the conversation.
Have you ever been in a conversation where you just suddenly feel weird? There's that awkward silence, you're tense inside, you're not sure what to say, and then your mind goes a mile a minute. Am I making them uncomfortable? Oh, my God. This is crashing and burning in a wreckage. Here's what you do to recover. First, just note what's happening really quickly in your mind in language that's not so dramatic, like, oh, I'm just feeling a little nervous right now, or, oh, this feels a little awkward right now. That's it. Just name it, it's not a huge deal. And then redirect. And the best way to get out of awkwardness is to get outside of yourself, because awkwardness is just mean. I'm feeling anxious inside the conversation. To them. Here's a great question you can use in pretty much any situation that always goes well, which is, so what's been the highlight of your week? Right? You get outside of yourself, focused on them, and boom, you're back in the conversation.
