Being able to move pretty easily through a crowd is a very useful skill – especially when you encounter large amounts of people daily, such as here at NHS. I use the skill of crowd weaving on a daily basis here at the school, and although it’s mainly done by instinct, there are a few tips that I’d like to share with you.

1. Don’t be rude. People aren’t going to just move out of your way to allow you to pass through, and you shouldn’t expect them to. If you’re not someone pushing a large cart, you need to slip through the crowd, not push your way through.

2. Think about your backpack. Do you wear your backpack on both shoulders or only on one? While I admit I’ve never worn my backpack on both shoulders while crowd weaving, I imagine that crowd weaving would be harder with the straps on both shoulders. If you’re currently wearing your backpack on both shoulders and want to switch to just one, think about which hand/arm is your dominant one (if you’re not ambidextrous). That’s the side you want your backpack on. The other shoulder is the one that you want slightly in front when slipping through a space.

3. Take the clearer route. If you have a choice between a crowded area and an area with fewer people, choose the one with more gaps.

4. Act like a ghost. When you’re slipping through a crowd, you want to get into the mindset of a ghost. You’re not really there. Everyone else is, but you have a ghostly form. (For the most part. There are times when you have to interact with others and say “Excuse me” so you can get through.) Once you get to class, you can go back to being normal.

5. Stay out of the way. You don’t want to be blocking the way. If you have to stop, don’t be loitering in doorways or the middle of the hallway. For example, when I’m heading up to the balcony using the stairs near the H wing, there are often people heading down the stairs from the H wing, which prevents me from crossing to the balcony. I simply stand in the divot leading to the elevator and hold the door open to H wing so anyone heading into H wing can go through. I listen behind me in case the elevator opens and I wait for a chance to cross over to the balcony. 

6. Go with the crowd as much as possible. If you can be heading in the same direction as the stream of people you’re in, that’s preferable. If you’re going across a stream of people, that’s less preferable but still fine. If you’re heading up or down a flight of stairs and there’s a group of people coming in the opposite direction and taking up the entire stairs, that’s the least desirable, but it’s not completely horrible. This is an example of what I mentioned before, a situation where you have to say “Excuse me” to someone heading your way. Stay to the side of the stairs and you should be fine.

7. Be smart, but don’t overthink things. Don’t try to move through spaces that are too small for you, and make sure you’re not overanalyzing. There’s not too much time to analyze the situation when you’re crowd weaving – unless you’re a robot. As I said, it’s mostly instinct.

8. Stay aware of your surroundings. Be aware of the people around you. If someone’s coming up fast, you may have to stop for a second to let them pass, or you may have to speed up suddenly to get through a spot if someone is moving slowly.

9. Move fast. This may just be me, but I find that walking at a faster pace helps me move through the crowd easier. Don’t run though – closer to a speed walk would be ideal.

10. As with anything, practice makes perfect! Even if you’re not great at it at first, you’ll get better the more you do it.

I hope this helps you! Have a great day everyone, and good luck crowd weaving!