[tbontob]

Hmmmm....

We all share the feeling of uncertainty, insecurity and awkwardness when we are with new people whose interests are a bit different from ours.

It does help to have a genuine interest in the other person as a person.

On some level this is sensed by the other person who then is likely to open about himself and more forgiving the faux pas we may make.

It also helps to remind oneself that it takes two to make a relationship and that if the other person should decline it, it is not our fault as the choice was not ours alone.

We may make a faux pax but it is always the choice of the other person as to how he is going to respond to it. To blame ourselves for the reactions of another person is taking on far too much responsibility.

This doesn't mean we shouldn't examine the faux pas and think about changing future behaviour. Quite the contrary. But we do need to be gentle with ourselves when we inadvertently make mistakes.