What are social cues?
How do you read social cues?
That said, not everyone will pick up on social cues as readily or easily.
17 examples of common social cues.
Posture
Posture can reveal whether someone’s feeling tired, sad, excited, and more.
Have you ever found yourself inching away from someone mid-conversation, overwhelmed by their energy?
Or oppositely, maybe you lean in because you’re interested in what they’re saying.
That’s a proximity cue in action.
Facial expressions
Often without us even meaning to, our facial expressions give us away.
And the ability toread someone’s facecan certainly help us navigate conversations.
“Notice if the person looks bored, annoyed, or agitated,” Nunez says.
That’s a sign the conversation should probably wrap up.
How we smile
There’s a difference between a halfhearted smile and a genuinely happy smile.
Sighing or yawning
You might hear, “Am I boring you?”
if you were to yawn or sigh mid-conversation.
And sure, maybe you’re just tired.
Looking down at our phones
Speaking of distractions, tech is a big one.
Silence
Who doesn’t love an awkward silence?
Tone of voice
Beurkens says tone of voice is another big one.
That said, some people with ADHD and other conditions may fidget naturally or for other reasons.
A quiet tone, on the other hand, might mean that a person is less engaged.
(That said, some peopleparticularly introvertsmight just naturally have a quieter voice!)
Who might struggle with reading social cues?
Some people on the autism spectrum can have difficulty with reading social cues.
But they’re certainly not the only ones.
The things left unsaid are oftentimes said, indeedjust not verbally.
And social cues are the clues that can give us the full story.
