On carriers with assigned seating I seldom find myself in an exit row, but when flying Southwest (first come, first seat selection), I always arrive early and stake out my place in line so as to grab a seat next to an overwing exit. Then I always do the same thing...
When the seats around me fill up and the preflight briefing is complete, I turn to one or more of my neighbors and quietly say, "Look. I sit here because I know how to work this exit, and apart from the flight attendants, I'm the only one here that I know for certain can open this door if need be. So here's what I need from you. If there's an emergency and we need to get out, I'll open the hatch, but I need you to keep everybody off my back so I can get it open. When it's released, it pops in. I'll throw it back out on the wing when I get it open, but I'll need room to work."
First response is always a laugh, to which I respond, "I'm serious."
I swear, the next thing that happens is always the same... They get this look on their faces like it never occurred to them before that they might actually be responsible for their own survival. Then they always nod and say, "OK." After that, they usually take a look at the card in the seat back and the hatch itself. Often we end up in a conversation about this sort of thing.
I don't engage in this practice to mess with the other SLF. Rather, it's exactly as billed. It's probably a hold-over from my flying days in the air force, but I'm much happier when a plan is shared by those around me. Still, in addition to being something that I think enhances the chances of more of us getting out of a burning airframe, it's also pretty amusing.
On the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised if I caught hell from a FA one day for frightening the other pax. Probably end up on a no-fly list somewhere as well for inciting something or other...
Dave