How to Eliminate the Awkwardness in a Friendship

Most friendships go through a lot of ups and downs, either brought on by life circumstances or personality differences. Awkwardness that develops in a friendship can stem from many situations. You could experience awkwardness because of a misunderstanding or a blatant offence. A missed birthday or an unkind word could create this feeling. Consistent offences that create awkwardness might make you consider ending the friendship all together, but if you want to salvage the relationship, several strategies are available to eliminate that awkward feeling.

Seek to understand your friend's point of view. When uncomfortable feelings exist between friends, it's easy to get caught up in just how you're affected. Awkwardness usually develops because of a difference of opinion or hurt feelings, so look at the situation through your friend's eyes.

Limit the amount of time you spend with him. Friendships change over time. Some last a lifetime, and others for only a short period. There are times you are closer and others when you feel more distant. If you're noticing that you're spending a lot of time feeling uncomfortable around your friend, consider shortening the time you spend together for now.

Inject humour into your friendship. Laughing together is always a quick way to diffuse an awkward situation. Simply chuckling over the same thing won't fix major issues, but if you've just developed some uncomfortable feelings due to not always seeing eye-to-eye or because of intense conversations, try lightening things up for a while.

Ask yourself if the situation is awkward because of your issues. If you've been under a lot of stress lately or come to blows over similar situations with most of your friends, take a look at what you're bringing to the table. You might need to apologise to your friend and ask how you both can move forward.

Confront the awkward situation head on. Sometimes nothing works better than asking your friend what is making her feel uncomfortable. Unless she's non-confrontational, the two of you can openly discuss the awkwardness and come to a mutual conclusion about its fix. As long as you keep it friendly, discussions like these can even strengthen your bond.

Set yourself up for success in interactions with your friend. Pay attention to what makes your companion tick in general. He will have his trigger points and so will you. Notice when situations arise that you know will cause an awkward moment between the two of you and avoid them.