Facing a closed door and waiting for it to open? Entering a small space you know is already crowded? When you are the person entering a bathroom stall, bus or elevator, please give priority to the person who is on their way out. A surefire way to irritate the person or people on the other side of the door is your failure to yield.

We've all been there. You are in a cramped elevator, trying to breathe and to manage your space. Arriving at your floor, you attempt to squeeze out of the elevator without stepping on toes or tripping over shoes. To your irritation, you discover that while you are endeavoring to leave this confined space, others are attempting to enter.

To the waiting elevator rider who is prepared to squeeze onto a crowded car, you need to wait just a little longer in order to allow those who have arrived at their floor to exit and make room for your anxious self. Sure, this seems to be some solid, sound advice. Are you following it? How about your fellow passengers? Are they crowded in front of the elevator doors, clamoring to push onto said elevator before anyone can exit? Really people. Stand off to the side already. Allow others to step off the elevator. This may seem like idiotic logic. It's surprising, however, how many people will push onto an elevator before waiting for it to become a little less crowded.

The same applies to busses and bathroom stalls. In the case of busses, there are people at the door who will need to leave before you walk on. It is always comical to see people who have been waiting for the bus and can somehow justify pushing their way onto a bus while passengers are attempting to exit. In considering this, keep in mind you can’t physically get past those people without bumping them and for the most part being totally irritating.

Where bathroom stalls are concerned, the need to exit first is obvious to most. The fact that people need the space to walk comfortably out of the stall and head to the sink isn't always made easy by others in the bathroom.

Hello? Give people the room they need to walk out of a bathroom stall and head in the proper direction. Move off to the side and wait while the ladies carry their purse and possibly their child by the hand. Allow the gentlemen to carry their briefcase or backpack and head in the general direction of the sink and the exit. There’s no need to crowd. You’re going to get your turn in the bathroom stall soon enough.

Finally, when entering a small space, like an elevator , men please allow women and the elderly person to enter before you. The same applies to the entrance of a building. Men, hold the door for the ladies. And everyone hold the door for someone who is elderly. If there’s no door to hold, allow them to enter in front of you.

Confined spaces can be difficult. Allowing people to exit those spaces before you enter eases the challenges. In all instances, be polite to all people. All these little gestures keep the wheel for proper manners going.