Social Anxiety Quick Tip

If you’re socially anxious, remember when you’re having a conversation with someone that your conversation partner has 50% of the responsibility for the conversation going well.

Its common for people with social anxiety to assume that if a conversation is clunky, it’s due to THEIR anxiety. But, other people can be awkward and socially clunky sometimes too.

If you hold in mind that you have 50% of the responsibility for keeping the conversation flowing then it can help prevent you from

- taking too much responsibility

e.g. taking too much control of the conversation topics, or not allowing enough pauses that allow the other person to think or direct the conversation

or

- taking too little responsibility

e.g. stepping back from the conversation too much and making the other person do all the work.

Thus, keeping the “50% of the responsibility” idea in mind can actually help the conversation flow well.