Social Skills for Handling Embarrassment

Everyone experiences embarrassment at some point in their lives. Have you ever tripped in front of a crowd of people or accidentally belched loudly in public? It’s happened to everyone at one time or another, but can still make you feel bad. 

Embarrassment can make us blush, feel sweaty, or set our heart rate racing. If you’re looking for tips to teach your students the social skills to handle embarrassment, try these four tips! 

  1. Stop beating yourself up – as humans, we all make mistakes or do things that make us look silly at some point or another. It’s unavoidable! Giving yourself a hard time about it will make it feel much worse than it is. Try to forgive yourself and move on. 
  1. Laugh at yourself – acknowledge that you did something silly by laughing about it! When others see that you aren’t bothered and can make a joke of it, they will too. 
  1. Change the subject – move attention away from the slip-up by changing the subject and asking a friend about something unrelated. A friend might even step in and do this for you to help turn everyone’s attention to something else. 
  1. Move forward – own up to the incident and keep the conversation moving! 

It can be hard at the moment to remember that you’re not the only one who has ever done something you feel embarrassed about, but being equipped with the social skills to move past that embarrassment will help you get through it more quickly!

The special education resources on this page were authored by Watson Institute’s special education consultant, Andee Morris, M. Ed.

Power Point Presentation

I Can Handle Embarrassment PowerPoint

I Can Handle Embarrassment Facilitator’s Guide

Resource Materials

I Can Handle Embarrassment Outline

I Can Handle Embarrassment Parent Note

I Can Handle Embarrassment Teacher Note

I Can Handle Embarrassment Homework

I Can Handle Embarrassment Magnet Cards

I Can Handle Embarrassment Mini Schedule

I Can Handle Embarrassment Activity

Pre/Post Assessment

A pre and post lesson assessment is included in each lesson. Use of the assessment is an instructor preference.  Many of the ‘homework’ pages for a lesson can be used as a pre/post assessment device alone or as part of the provided assessment.  Each homework page can be checked by the instructor as well as the student.

Review all included pages of the lesson to determine what ‘assessment’ method will meet your needs.  If the student is able to achieve a + in the majority of items of the pre-assessment, or if the student has been observed to display the skill topic of the lesson often, then the lesson may not be introduced or can be taught with a group as review and/or reinforcement.

I Can Handle Embarrassment Pre/Post Assessment

If you have questions or concerns about the Watson Institute’s use of this information, please contact us.