Melissa Dahl

Cringeworthy

Have you ever said goodbye to someone, only to discover that you`re both walking in the same direction? Or had your next thought fly out of your brain in the middle of a presentation? Or accidentally liked an old photo on someone`s Instagram or Facebook, thus revealing yourself to be a creepy social media stalker? Melissa Dahl, New York magazine`s "Science of Us" editor, has experienced all of those awkward situations, and many more. Now she offers a thoughtful, original take on what it really means to feel awkward. She invites you to follow her into all sorts of mortifying moments, drawing on personal experience and in-depth psychological research to answer questions you`ve probably pondered at some point, such as: * Why are situations without clear rules most likely to turn awkward? * Are people really judging us as harshly as we think they are? * Does anyone ever truly outgrow their awkward teenage self? If you can learn to tolerate life`s most awkward situations -- networking, difficult conversations, hearing the sound of your own terrible voice -- your awkwardness can be a secret weapon to making better, more memorable impressions. When everyone else is pretending to have it under control, you can be a little braver and grow a little bigger.