What are some common social cues that you don't catch?

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Shaking your head "no" can mean several things. Usually the facial expressions also convey information

- with eyes wide = stop saying that in front of a third person. There are reasons why that person should not hear this that you seem to be unaware of.

- with eyebrows drawn together = I think what you are saying is wrong or stupid but I will not comment and be rude to you

- with sad face = I hear your sad experience/news and sympathise with your/their pain

If I don't catch them, how do I know what they are?

I don't get.sarcasm or double meanings often or when someone pauses for me to talk versus a pause foe some sort of intonation or meaning.

For example on a group gathering women's said something along.the lines of liking her cookies with nuts. Then everyone laughed and I was.lime are you allergic? ... silence. So you like almond cookies? Everyone laughed. I didn't get it for a while.

Then there's the time a friend told me " nah I don't do that!" And I was like you just did! And she was like I WAS being sarcastic mood killer. -_-

Mostly the stop talking/stop asking questions cue.

Whenever I learn about something new, like a new online video game, I tend to ask people lots of questions about the various systems and mechanics in the game. My cousin tends to bear the brunt of those, but I also alienated one of my favorite origami artists by asking him about different techniques at a convention and he became very cross with me. I was already finding it hard to speak to anyone period, but I fear talking to them anymore and going to the conventions if I might be seen as an annoyance to them. I often got that from people in school as it was... I also get many sighs during staff meetings because I try to understand new rule changes and policies, but it tends to earn me the same response. I've also tried to just stop asking/making comments at all and let come what may and just tell them the truth if they ask me why I didn't follow the rules/policy correctly.

Other than that, "chivalry/courtesy" type customs are annoying and hard to predict how to handle. I've been scolded for both opening doors for women/men and not opening doors for men/women, the same goes for carrying objects or heavy loads. I've learned how specific people will react, but others seem to contradict themselves no matter what I do... For instance, my assistant director will deny help carrying heavy boxes that I would struggle with and go out of her way to insult me for it, then also complain when I don't immediately help her move a table that I could move by myself. It is something that I've accepted I cannot change/improve upon.

I am sometimes told when I miss things after the fact. At a party, apparently a guy was trying to lean in and kiss me when he said goodbye and I just stone-faced him and said "okay, goodbye!" and walked away. Everyone thought that was hilarious, I honestly had no idea that was what was going on.

I've also been told I monopolize conversations, turn it back to my topic when it's not about that anymore, etc. My GP actually said "you never smile" and I replied by saying that I thought I was smiling right then. Apparently, I wasn't smiling.

When I am interested in someone romantically, I've been told I lean in too much and stare with creepy intensity.

I'm sure there are a million I don't catch and just don't know it However, off the top of my head, here is one situation:

I'm with person A and person B. Person A says something that is probably meant only for person B because they know each other better than I know them, or some other reason.

I respond to person A, thinking the comment or question is meant for both of us. But then I notice person A talking in this slightly muted voice with a different accent, very subtly reminding me that person A and person B are having a conversation and I'm not supposed to interject.

BTW, has anyone else noticed this? When you're with other people and they say something only meant for one other person, their voice and tone change ever so slightly and subtly, but you know that you are excluded from the conversation.

(I've had this happen when one person is of a different nationality than me, and suppose the other person present is also of that race. The "person A" in that situation speaks with more of an accent to indicate that hey, I'm not in the conversation any longer.

Anyway, don't mean to digress, but this is a cue I've noticed quite frequently and wonder if I'm catching it when it is too late...

I guess one of my biggest problems is saying stuff I shouldn't; I say things too bluntly or tell strangers things about our family that they'd rather not have people know, like the time I told someone who was interested in buying our parrot that he's mean and he bites, or the time I told my (relatively new) step father that my mom could get really vicious when she was upset... she told me later that she didn't want him to know that, though I still don't 100% understand why; he asked, it was the truth with no exaggeration, and I made it clear that it only happens occasionally and that she's not usually like that... which he knows since he's been married to her for almost a year. I also have a very hard time with subtle facial expressions. I know people are trying to communicate something but have no idea what, or I guess and totally get it wrong. Case in point, I was watching Criminal Minds tonight and one of the characters gave another a subtle smirk, then one of his co-workers laughed at his expression and said "Could you be any more obvious?" while I was still trying to unscramble what had happened; as far as I was concerned, he wasn't obvious at all! When watching TV with my family, it's not unusual for me to have to ask, "What does that face mean?" because it just looks blank to me, or what I think it means doesn't make sense in th context of the dialogue.

[quote="GiantHockeyFan"]Apparently, my girlfriend (and another older female) both pointed out that girls hit on me literally everyday and I do not notice it at all. I didn't even know my girlfriend was the least bit interested during our first date until she grabbed my hand and held it and later told me how many hints she dropped. It was obvious in retrospect but I had no idea at the time. If that wasn't bad enough, the few times I was "sure" a girl was really into me and I made a move (NOT physical or sexual) I quickly found out I was 100%, dead wrong and one even informally reported me at work.

I make this social faux pas all the time, although it works out a different ending on the latter than what you have experienced since I'm a girl, unfortunately. I will bluntly ask a guy who I think is interested in me if he is, he informs me that he really wasn't, but then gets curious at my boldness and notices I'm not bad looking, so he then asks for a date anyways As for the fact I am also bisexual, I do not understand woman at all, men seem to be the simpler species to analyze (sorry for the bluntness guys) and I have only seen one woman intimately a few times while a couple of others were simply "experimental" for one night. I misread women all the time and mistake it for sexual when it's not because of my orientation, which is as awkward as it gets when it comes to the rejections on that end.