9. You aren’t paying attention to your audience

“Know your audience. Mutual friendly insults with your buddies is fine. In the office, not so much.

Listening is an important skill – but there is a difference between parroting back what you just heard and asking insightful followup questions that demonstrate you were paying attention.

Active listening itself is really important. Don’t equate ‘having the perfect thing to say every time’ with ‘socially adept’. A conversation requires both people have a chance to both talk and listen, and it’s a bad idea to focus on only half of that

To clarify, I am ‘socially adept’ because I have forced myself to be, because it’s a critical skill in my job. That doesn’t mean it comes easily or naturally” — YourBlogSucksToo

10. You care a little too much

“There’s not as much pressure on you as you think. If you’re in some smalltalk with someone and you accidentally say something weird, or don’t respond the way they expected, well chances are they won’t notice or won’t care, so don’t let it get to you too much.” — TheCostlyCrocodile

11. You talk a little too much

“Learn when to stop. If you make a joke and it doesn’t land, don’t double down.

Just… stop. Take a step back and try again next time.” — themasquerade07