During a time of gathering such as this one (USY International Convention ‘04 in Chicago), it is natural for people to meet unfamiliar faces. Of course, in a social environment such as USY, conversations between these new people will ensue.
I’ve noticed that often, these conversations become extremely awkward:
1) “Oh, you’re Mark’s friend–I’ve heard so much about you!” If Mark is standing right there (or even if he isn’t), it’s extremely awkward for Mark. Saying this implies that Mark talks excessively about this new person, which is not desirable.
2) “You’re from New Jersey…oh my gosh, for heaven’s sake, do you know Rachel Cohen?” First of all, there are probably 1000 Rachel Cohens in each state. And really, once you have established the fact that you have a friend in common, what else do you talk about? “So how do you know Rachel?” … “Um, how often do you see Rachel?” … “Uhhh, ummm, what’s Rachel really like at home?”… “Uhhhhhhmmmm”
3) “Wait. You’re Dan from Kentucky! I think I met you last year at Jenny’s new year’s party!” I actually said this to someone today. I remembered him, but he obviously did not remember me. So I had to cover up my non-stalker-ness with a “Sorry, I have a really good memory. I think I asked you if you live in Lexington because I know someone else who lives in Lexington.” He said that he actually did remember me, but I think that he was in fact trying to avoid a potentially awkward situation.
Now, as all good things do, conversations like these must come to an end. An end is often hard to reach. There’s always that awkward “So…” which symbolizes “please get me OUT of this conversation!” Here are some solutions (some easier than others):
1) “Yeah, I’m gonna run and see if the next Whirlyball game has started…BYE!”
2) “So…yeah…I should probably get back to wandering in circles. See ya.”
3) “What? I think I hear my mom calling me. Gotta run.”
4) “FIRE!!!!”
5) “Is that my cell phone ringing on the other side of this large, loud room?”
6) “What’s that over there? [QUICKLY RUN AWAY]“
7) “It’s been great…now I need to find someone who I actually care to talk to.”
“Well this isn’t getting awkward at all!”
These are useful tips that can be helpful at all times.
The best solution, however: if a conversation (or LACK of conversation) is getting awkward and all else fails, tell the best joke you know. They’ll probably respond with another joke. Hopefully it won’t be as good as yours, so you will be the Joke King/Queen. (Also another one of my own tricks for today.) Multiple jokes will result, and awkwardness will be gone as soon as you can say “Uhh…I’m gonna go get some water, catch ya later.”
