Why is he acting awkward all of a sudden?

[Anonymous]

My manager’s brother has been acting weird around me. We recently had a work outing that he joined and him and I had a conversation at one point (2nd time ever speaking to him). It went well, it was casual, he’s great to talk to!

Now, I see him pop up at our office and when he tries to speak to me, he’s very shy and cannot maintain eye contact or a conversation like last time.

No, he was not drinking at the outing, so I know it wasn’t that. He was totally fine at the outing, and now he started acting differently afterwards, why?

[Oliverlogan263]

Hmm that is kinda strange behavior from him. A few possibilities why he could be acting so awkward all of a sudden:

- He might have a crush on you after talking more at the work outing. Guys can get really shy and nervous around a girl they like, even if they seemed confident before. Maintaining eye contact and conversation gets harder when feelings are involved.

- Something you said or did at the outing unintentionally gave him the vibe that you weren't interested. Now he thinks he misread the situation and doesn't want to come on too strong.

- His brother (your manager) might have teased him or said something about you guys talking that made him self-conscious. Siblings can be embarrassing!

- He's generally just an awkward, shy guy and conversation with a cute girl brings it out more.

- Worst case, he's seeing someone now and doesn't want any rumors spreading at the office.

If you like talking to him, maybe try smiling and finding something easy to chat about to put him at ease. Or ask his bro what's up with the strange behavior. Either way, don't worry - he'll probably get over it soon and go back to normal!

[spartan55]

Manager's brother? Isn't that a little weird to you that he is hanging around work functions, and your workplace?
As far as him acting different? How would you know, you've only met him once. You can't get to know someone that fast. The things you are mentioning are not really significant (eye contact, being shy etc) don't add up to some big personality shift. Maybe you were acting different?