But often, the most difficult conversations are moments within our everyday communication. So from introducing yourself to someone new to tripping over your words, we’ve pinpointed some of the most awkward conversational pratfalls and how to overcome them.

Many times, the hardest part of a conversation is starting it. When you’re dying to talk to someone but don’t know them personally, the nerves and unfamiliarity makes the next four conversational traps easier to fall into.

Fix it: By focusing on them. Charming people, writes Chris Gabroit, know how to approach someone humbly, as if they’re the most important person in the room. That isn’t insincerity; in the moment, that person is the most important person, because you’re speaking with them. And besides, everyone loves to talk about themselves.

The second hardest part of a conversation is knowing when to stop. You’re glancing at your watch, your side of the story has been reduced to nods and tiny steps backward … but the other person can’t take the hint. And you can’t get a word in to end their tirade. Does this guy ever take a breath? Or maybe you’re stuck in a loop of courtesies: “I’ll see you later!” “Okay, later it is, then!” “Alright, can’t wait!” And on and on … the face-to-face version of “You hang up … no, YOU hang up!”

Fix it: By bowing out gracefully. Adam Dachis coauthor of The Awkward Human Survival Guide, shared his tips with writer Stephanie Vozza:

If you’re at a party, excuse yourself to get a drink; if you’re at work, you can leave to get some coffee. You can also say, “It’s nice talking to you, but I have to talk to someone before they leave.” If your conversation is on the phone, end it by saying, “I’d love to catch up, but I have somewhere to be.” This will put an end to the conversation and allow you a chance to exit.

According to a 2011 Dutch study, people forced to watch a long pause in conversation were more likely to feel “distressed, afraid, hurt and rejected,” New York Magazine reported. Four seconds of silence is all it takes to make us feel uncomfortable, the study found. When much of our communication happens via text, chat and email, where the silence isn’t a palpable part of the conversation but a series of ellipsis while the other person types “When we’re talking to each other face to face, we’re communicating through our eyes and our body language and the rhythm of our voices–which soothes or scares the evolutionary history that’s alive in the back of our minds,” Drake Baer wrote earlier this year.