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A real version of that comic would probably have her thought bubble be like “I hope the meeting at five doesn’t run over. I’ve got to go pick up that camera lens from Best Buy. And what’s traffic going to be like. Should I just get it shipped? Hmm, I wonder if it’ll make it here before the weekend. But I want an excuse to get out of the meeting. Is that too much? Maybe.” or something like that. You know, the same stuff you’re thinking.
I have stranger-interactions all the time and most people are actually fairly eager for them. In fact, about the most you’ll ever see is lack of interest, which occasionally happens but will manifest as them being minimally civil.
Most people don’t want discomfort anywhere in their vicinity so they won’t confront you. Like they will barely confront you if you cause them harm, they _definitely_ won’t confront you if you’re neutral.
I'm trying to get smarter about reading social signals, but for now I just try to make sure not to corner people. I will not attempt to interact with you unless I can see that you have an easy way to get away from the interaction.
Are there classes or something available for people who know they're lacking in social skills and want to get better?
I've looked for something like this before, and haven't really found a good option. The main things people tend to bring up are:
1) Toastmasters. This is is adult-oriented and widely available, but is largely for people who want to improve at public speaking and "leadership".
2) Social skills training. In principle this is exactly the thing you're looking for, but the field is heavily focused on working with children and adolescents; genuine resources for adults (as opposed to self-help / content marketing fluff) seem scarce.