Social Techniques

Elaina has an interesting reaction to new people. Those of you who have seen her only on this blog are familiar with her smile, but there's another face that she uses a lot. It's a very serious expression—almost sad-looking (which is why it doesn't show up much here). I don't think it really is a sad expression, but if you don't know her, you don't know that a sunny smile is just on the other side of that serious face. When Elaina first meets someone new, they usually get this somber expression...for awhile.... And then....

...and then, after several, progressively more uncomfortable, moments of someone talking to her and receiving no reaction from that serious face, Elaina starts clapping! She claps and gives them a big smile, and claps some more. This always gets a smile in response, and suddenly, the ice has been broken.

She's sort of a one-trick pony in that respect. When faced with an awkward social situation, left with no other ideas for how to respond, Elaina just starts clapping. And why not? It has served her well. It always breaks the ice. It's easy to remember.

It strikes me that I could learn from her in this respect. I don't always know what to do in awkward social situations either—only I don't have a fallback plan like Elaina does. Perhaps the next time I find myself in an awkward social situation, I'll just start clapping. If I do this with you, don't be offended. Maybe we just haven't seen each other for awhile. Maybe I'm not sure what we have in common, or I'm in uncomfortable surroundings. Just smile and clap with me. It works for Elaina.