5 tips for handling social awkwardness this holiday season

Editor’s note: The views expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writers. As a philosopher who studies moral psychology, I’m interested in awkwardness because I wanted to understand the ways social discomfort stops people from engaging with difficult topics and challenging conversations. But awkwardness is really a collective failure — people aren’t awkward, situations are. Laugh it off If, despite your best efforts, awkwardness does strike, offer people a way out — they’ll probably grab it. So if things are awkward, it’s worth looking around to see what role that awkwardness is playing, and what might take its place if it’s gone.