Dinner guests who don't know the difference between a salad and dinner fork are especially at risk. Or, a friend might shame his raucous buddy into sobriety by publicly relating what happened the last time that he overindulged. It's been sooo long since I've been here. Walk away, use humor, or as bad as it sounds, blame someone else. In a 1984 study, Petronio found that women are more likely to blame or shift the center of attention to others.
Men apologize, deny the incident, or change the topic.
Subsequent research found no support for the differences, she says. People's anxiety in embarrassing experiences makes quick comebacks hard to come by. Good communicators are most likely to save face in embarrassing situations, Petronio says. Much of the outcome depends on the witnesses. They can make the situation worse by laughing or teasing the person.