Do you fear giving the wrong impression?

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Quite often, I don't show emotion in situations that may warrant it. This, I believe, gives people the idea that I don't care about what's going on.

Well, sometimes I don't, but that's not always the case. Expressing myself at any time just doesn't come naturally enough to me. Perhaps this goes back to when I was a kid, when I got negative feedback from people for such a thing. I was convinced that showing how I felt was a source for criticism. I didn't want to give anybody a reason to say something insulting to me. Thinking this way, it turned into my being looked at as apathetic. I get confused about what the right outward expression should be.

I learned in an Ancient Civilizations class I took that Egyptians once considered emotion expression as a sign of weakness. Sometimes I think I would have fit in with their society!

the way i often see it is beter safe then sorry. though often i say a joke at the wrong time or something. my mothers uncle has a strong irish acsent and he will say something that i dont understand, and to not send the wrong impression i try to figure out what exactly i am supposed to do and his face is wrinkly making it even harder to tell

All the time. I normally try to plan what to say 2 or 3 times.

Same here; I like being able to rehearse or rewrite what I'm gonna say until I think its perfect (and its still usually off kilter).

I have some fears of this too. I don't show a lot of emotion either, and I am afraid that many people get the wrong vibe from me, like I don't care about what they are talking about when I really do.

as above + combined with not being able to look them in the eye - people dont like that i notice, they think im just daydreaming when in reality my mind is rehearsing what to say/do - eventually they give up cause they dont like my "reaction"

Yeah I do sometimes, especially if I get mixed up and something comes out wrong.

I do get tired of it. I'm no longer afraid thhough.

I kind of expect to give the wrong impression.
I'm only anxious about it when the person matters.