Practice Sociability When the Stakes Are Low
You may be shy; You may not be overly charismatic. But you are not meant to be. Social skills are just skills. They can be studied and honed. Learn to be more social by exercising when the stakes are low.
We’ve already told you that being shy is just a habit . By practicing regularly, you can get rid of this habit . You can practice being sociable, and at College Info Geek, Stefano Ganddini suggests doing it in an informal setting:
you can start with practice when the rates are low. These are ideal situations to pretend to be the most confident and sociable person you can be. For example, practice striking up a conversation with cashiers or waiters. Ask them how their day is going. Give them a sincere compliment. Whatever. It doesn’t have to be a long conversation, it’s just so you feel comfortable saying something.
It helps to learn how to communicate in such an environment, because the pressure is much less and you can solve any social problem .
Sometimes I do this without even thinking. For example, it always seemed to me that I was bad at complimenting people. I say, “I like your shoes,” they say “thank you,” but then what? I am inexperienced in communication, so I often answered with awkward silence. But compliments are good, so I wanted to get better. To do this, I often compliment strangers, such as a fellow shopper at the grocery store. Or, as Ganddini suggests, the cashier or waitress. Practice doesn’t mean that the compliment isn’t genuine. But the pressure is less, and it helps me in general to get used to compliments. The same can work for other social skills as well.
Check out the rest of Ganddini’s article at the link below.
The Ultimate Guide to Networking for Introverts | College Information Geek