You’re about to walk into a building and you see that genuine person holding the door for you. Do you:
A. Keep a steady walking pace and make them wait for you?
B. Speed walk awkwardly?
C. Move your arms to make it look like you’re putting in effort?
D. Bust a little half jog to express your gratuity?
We have all been there before. That awkward moment of time from when a nice person is willing to hold the door for you to when you make eye contact with them. In this small moment of time we are all thinking about what to do. Should I speed up to show that I appreciate this gesture? Or should I walk slowly because they chose to hold the door for me?
We tested this as we spent all day holding the door kindly for students. We saw all forms awkwardness as students had to make the decision to speed up or walk slowly.
Surprisingly door holding can be found as an art. Being the door holder you find that you might not receive any acknowledgment at all, not a thank you, or simple head nod.
“My biggest pet peeve is when people don’t thank you for holding the door for them,” said Nick Pascale ’22.
All in all, this simple act of holding the door isn’t so simple after all. Consider your door holding skills and door-entering skills the next time this occurs.
