I used to isolate myself from people because I could never come up with the right words to say in any given situation. So people would talk to me and I'd just freeze up, say nothing or maybe manage to squeeze out something monosyllabic. Or grin like an idiot so people would hopefully think that I was trying to be friendly in a silent kind of way.
The problem with this is that it is considered rude by regular people. So you end up with people not liking you, not wanting to have you around.
If you throw caution to the wind though and just say whatever pops into your head, then if you are anything like me you are going to come across as odd.
I basically got to a point when I was about 30 where I realized that I couldn't go on just seeming to ignore people, hiding away in my silence and hoping not to be noticed. Sometimes that meant that I'd have a few things that happened to me recently saved up in case someone asked me "what did you do on the weekend" or whatever. Eventually my confidence improved and I got better at small talk and stuff. Not good at it, just not hopeless any more.
So yes, I found that the latter approach was a lot better for me. People are going to think you are odd and rude if you don't talk to them. But if you just say whatever pops into your head then at least you will only be considered odd. Just as long as you can avoid saying something totally inappropriate.
The problem with this is that it is considered rude by regular people. So you end up with people not liking you, not wanting to have you around.
If you throw caution to the wind though and just say whatever pops into your head, then if you are anything like me you are going to come across as odd.
I basically got to a point when I was about 30 where I realized that I couldn't go on just seeming to ignore people, hiding away in my silence and hoping not to be noticed. Sometimes that meant that I'd have a few things that happened to me recently saved up in case someone asked me "what did you do on the weekend" or whatever. Eventually my confidence improved and I got better at small talk and stuff. Not good at it, just not hopeless any more.
So yes, I found that the latter approach was a lot better for me. People are going to think you are odd and rude if you don't talk to them. But if you just say whatever pops into your head then at least you will only be considered odd. Just as long as you can avoid saying something totally inappropriate.