You may long to walk down the street completely anonymously with no one taking any notice of you. It can become tiring and feel intrusive when people seem to stare and you may feel that it would be less bother if you just stayed at home.

The way in which you approach meeting people also depends on what you would like to get out of the encounter. So there are different levels of communication for different types of encounters, whether with a stranger, a casual acquaintance, a work colleague, a friend or an intimate partner.

What you might say to one is likely to be quite different to what you say to another. Many people therefore find it useful to have prepared and ‘rehearsed’ scenarios and responses in their minds that can be used for these different types of encounters.

Revealing personal information and sharing experiences is part of the natural process of increasing trust and intimacy within a developing friendship. As part of this process, people will most likely want to know what happened to you and why you look different.

If you’d like to learn more about communicating with confidence and taking control of situations more effectively – whether you want to develop friendships and social relationships or you simply want to be left alone to get on with your day download our guide to handling other people's reactions.