There are few places more ripe with the opportunity for awkwardness and even downright rude behaviour than lifts. They’re small, often crowded and require you to be mere inches from complete strangers.

When it comes to how to act in a lift, experts told HuffPost that you have to remember that they’re public spaces.

“People tend to forget that lifts are still public shared spaces,” said Tami Claytor, the owner of Always Appropriate Image and Etiquette Consulting.

“It’s not that you’re already in your office and you can close the door, or in your apartment and you can close the door — you’re still in a public space, and people should conduct themselves accordingly.”

“You have to observe and respect that public space just like you would someone’s home 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,” said Diane Gottsman, a national etiquette expert and founder of the Protocol School of Texas.

Most people don’t 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.

Below, etiquette experts share the elevator no-nos that irk them most:

There’s no excuse not to hold the door for someone who is coming up behind you to also get on the lift, experts told HuffPost.

While it’s rude to let the door slam in anyone’s face, Claytor added that it’s particularly rude if the person who’s walking behind you is elderly, uses medical equipment such as a walker, or has a stroller.

“There’s 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,” Claytor noted.

You also shouldn’t hold a lift door too long and hold up other people’s day.

“Let’s say you’re traveling with a friend or a partner … and they are running just a little bit behind, but you’ve got to go, and you’re in a hurry, so you want to hold that lift door for them, even though they’re not even there yet,” said Gottsman.

“So, you’re kind of waiting, waiting, waiting, because it’s rush hour, it’s time to get out … so, you’re holding it because your friend is not quite ready with a suitcase,” Gottsman noted. “You have to let it go. You can’t hold up that elevator car while waiting for someone who’s not there.”

You can go downstairs without them, or get off tand wait for them, but you can’t just hold the door for someone who isn’t ready.

More, you shouldn’t hold a lift door open to finish a conversation with someone who isn’t actually getting on, Claytor said. Maybe you’re leaving the office and getting in a few last-minute words with your colleague before going home.

“Have you ever been in a situation where someone’s holding the lift, they’re inside or outside the lift, and they’re holding a conversation with someone? And so now you’re stuck, you’re trapped on this lift, and people are holding a conversation,” Claytor said.

You should either get off the lift and continue the conversation, or get on and end it, she added.

You shouldn’t face backwards in a lift, said Gottsman. Once you’re in an lift you should face forward — so, face the door, once you’re inside.

“Even though it’s a public space, we still feel as if we need to have some privacy in that space,” Gottsman said. “You don’t want someone staring at you.”

“We’ve all experienced it, every single one of us … the door opens, you’re in the lift being crushed already, and then there are three people standing there, or one person, and they’ll say, ‘Oh, is there a room for me?’” Gottsman said. “You clearly know there’s no room for you. We are sardines in this little can.”

Nonetheless, they squeeze into the lift “and no one wants to say anything because everyone wants to be polite, but it is so crowded that you can’t breathe,” said Gottsman.

“And just think of potentially, what could happen if that lift gets stuck, and then what are you going to do?” she said.

Overcrowding a lift is a big faux pas, and you should read the room before stepping in, Gottsman said. If there’s no room to fit comfortably, wait 20 seconds for the next elevator.

While it’s never OK to just cough or sneeze out in the open, it’s especially rude in a space that isn’t even six feet across.

If you’re on a lift and you cough or sneeze, it’s important that you cover your mouth — otherwise it’s really rude to the other passengers, Claytor noted.

No one wants to be sneezed or coughed on by a stranger.

Lifts aren’t exactly mobile phone friendly — service is often spotty and no one wants to hear you yammer away, anyway.

“I 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,” said Claytor.

“No one else on the lift wants to hear your conversation,” she said.

Plus, you don’t know who may know the person you’re talking to on the phone, Gottsman added.

“A 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’t know them, but they were talking about that person,” explained Gottsman.

If you’re in the back of a crowded elevator and need to get off, you shouldn’t just push your way forward, Gottsman noted.

Instead, you should speak up and say something like, “Excuse me, this is my floor,” Gottsman said.

“Let them know. Don’t just try and push through,” she said.

People should move to the side to let you off, Gottsman added. “You’ve 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,” Gottsman said.

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.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t wear a fragrance, but you should be mindful of how much you put on if you know you have to get into an elevator.

“Just be mindful that scents linger,” Gottsman said.

When it comes to being your best self in a lift (or any public space, for that matter), Claytor has some advice: “At its very fundamental level, etiquette is about thinking of others before you think of yourself.”

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.

“I like to tell people … just slow down for a moment. Don’t always be in such a rush, and just observe the world around you, and that will make you a more conscientious person,” Claytor said.