There are few places more ripe with the opportunity for awkwardness and even downright rude behaviour than lifts. They\u2019re small, often crowded and require you to be mere inches from complete strangers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
When it comes to how to act in a lift, experts told HuffPost that you have to remember that they\u2019re public spaces.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cPeople tend to forget that lifts are still public shared spaces,\u201d said Tami Claytor, the owner of Always Appropriate Image and Etiquette Consulting<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not that you\u2019re already in your office and you can close the door, or in your apartment and you can close the door \u2014 you\u2019re still in a public space, and people should conduct themselves accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cYou have to observe and respect that public space just like you would someone\u2019s home<\/a> or a hotel lobby, and you must be respectful of the property itself [and] assume that there are eyes on you because there might be a camera up in the top corner,\u201d said Diane Gottsman<\/a>, a national etiquette expert and founder of the Protocol School of Texas<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Most people don\u2019t get into a lift with the goal of being rude, but there are some common behaviours that are off-putting to your fellow lift riders.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Below, etiquette experts share the elevator no-nos that irk them most:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n There\u2019s no excuse not to hold the door for someone who is coming up behind you to also get on the lift, experts told HuffPost.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n While it\u2019s rude to let the door slam in anyone\u2019s face, Claytor added that it\u2019s particularly rude if the person who\u2019s walking behind you is elderly, uses medical equipment such as a walker, or has a stroller.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a gentleman who lives in my building who never holds the lift for anyone, and when my mother was alive, she used a walker, and he would not just wait a few seconds for her to catch up to him, he would just let the door close in her face,\u201d Claytor noted.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n You also shouldn\u2019t hold a lift door too long and hold up other people\u2019s day.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cLet\u2019s say you\u2019re traveling with a friend or a partner … and they are running just a little bit behind, but you\u2019ve got to go, and you\u2019re in a hurry, so you want to hold that lift door for them, even though they\u2019re not even there yet,\u201d said Gottsman.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cSo, you\u2019re kind of waiting, waiting, waiting, because it\u2019s rush hour, it\u2019s time to get out … so, you\u2019re holding it because your friend is not quite ready with a suitcase,\u201d Gottsman noted. \u201cYou have to let it go. You can\u2019t hold up that elevator car while waiting for someone who\u2019s not there.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n You can go downstairs without them, or get off tand wait for them, but you can\u2019t just hold the door for someone who isn\u2019t ready.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n More, you shouldn\u2019t hold a lift door open to finish a conversation with someone who isn\u2019t actually getting on, Claytor said. Maybe you\u2019re leaving the office and getting in a few last-minute words with your colleague before going home.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cHave you ever been in a situation where someone\u2019s holding the lift, they\u2019re inside or outside the lift, and they\u2019re holding a conversation with someone? And so now you\u2019re stuck, you\u2019re trapped on this lift, and people are holding a conversation,\u201d Claytor said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n You should either get off the lift and continue the conversation, or get on and end it, she added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n You shouldn\u2019t face backwards in a lift, said Gottsman. Once you\u2019re in an lift you should face forward \u2014 so, face the door, once you\u2019re inside.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cEven though it\u2019s a public space, we still feel as if we need to have some privacy in that space,\u201d Gottsman said. \u201cYou don\u2019t want someone staring at you.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Natalia Lebedinskaia via Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve all experienced it, every single one of us … the door opens, you\u2019re in the lift being crushed already, and then there are three people standing there, or one person, and they\u2019ll say, \u2018Oh, is there a room for me?\u2019\u201d Gottsman said. \u201cYou clearly know there\u2019s no room for you. We are sardines in this little can.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Nonetheless, they squeeze into the lift \u201cand no one wants to say anything because everyone wants to be polite, but it is so crowded that you can\u2019t breathe,\u201d said Gottsman.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cAnd just think of potentially, what could happen if that lift gets stuck, and then what are you going to do?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Overcrowding a lift is a big faux pas, and you should read the room before stepping in, Gottsman said. If there\u2019s no room to fit comfortably, wait 20 seconds for the next elevator.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n While it\u2019s never OK to just cough or sneeze out in the open, it\u2019s especially rude in a space that isn\u2019t even six feet across.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n If you\u2019re on a lift and you cough or sneeze, it\u2019s important that you cover your mouth \u2014 otherwise it\u2019s really rude to the other passengers, Claytor noted.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n No one wants to be sneezed or coughed on by a stranger.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Lifts aren\u2019t exactly mobile phone friendly \u2014 service is often spotty and no one wants to hear you yammer away, anyway.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI would prefer if people would pause their [phone] conversations until they got to their personal space, but if you absolutely have to continue this conversation, definitely do not use speakerphone,\u201d said Claytor.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cNo one else on the lift wants to hear your conversation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Plus, you don\u2019t know who may know the person you\u2019re talking to on the phone, Gottsman added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cA client of mine had a personal experience where they were on the lift and someone on the phone was talking about them on speaker. So, the person in the lift didn\u2019t know them, but they were talking about that person,\u201d explained Gottsman. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n If you\u2019re in the back of a crowded elevator and need to get off, you shouldn\u2019t just push your way forward, Gottsman noted.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Instead, you should speak up and say something like, \u201cExcuse me, this is my floor,\u201d Gottsman said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cLet them know. Don\u2019t just try and push through,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n People should move to the side to let you off, Gottsman added. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to get out so you can let other people out, and then you can get back in and hold that door for yourself and for them,\u201d Gottsman said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n A lift is a supremely small space. No one wants to be in a tiny, enclosed space with someone who just dosed themselves in fragrance, and forcing someone to stand directly next to you after you put on lots of cologne or perfume is rude, both experts told HuffPost.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n This doesn\u2019t mean that you can\u2019t wear a fragrance, but you should be mindful of how much you put on if you know you have to get into an elevator. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cJust be mindful that scents linger,\u201d Gottsman said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n When it comes to being your best self in a lift (or any public space, for that matter), Claytor has some advice: \u201cAt its very fundamental level, etiquette is about thinking of others before you think of yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n So, instead of disregarding those around you by letting the door slam in their face or pushing off a crowded lift, think about how that may make others feel.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI like to tell people … just slow down for a moment. Don\u2019t always be in such a rush, and just observe the world around you, and that will make you a more conscientious person,\u201d Claytor said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nNot holding the door for someone else<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Conversely, it\u2019s also rude to hold the elevator door too<\/em> long<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Not facing forward<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/img.huffingtonpost.com\/asset\/68125ae51500002400c3caca.jpeg?ops=scalefit_720_noupscale&format=webp\"\/)
<\/picture><\/div>\nPushing into a crowded lift<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Not covering your mouth when you cough and sneeze<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Talking on speakerphone<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Shoving people out of the way to get off the lift<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Wearing too much cologne or perfume<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n