It’s a brand new day and you’re faced with a brand new situation that you hope won’t be a repeat of the last time you went out. As soon as you saw the crowd of people your heart started beating fast, you began to tremble and you hid out in the bathroom for as long as you could, completely missing out on the fun of the evening.
Why does this happen? You’re jittery because you desperately want people to like you. You know you are a good person but you don’t have enough faith that others will discover that simply because you’re a bit different, a bit odd.
Listen, you don’t have to change, it’s okay to be a bit odd, people like you are the real spice in life. On the other hand, I can tell you that you can’t spice up anyone’s life if they don’t know you exist. Try these 3 simple tips to overcome social anxiety before you go out.
1. Tell Yourself- “Tonight is about serving others, it’s not about me.”
When you go out tonight you have to understand that you are the missing link in the success of the people you will meet. Someone at your social event needs your specific wisdom, someone needs your specific type of guidance, someone needs you to introduce them to someone else because without you they will not achieve their purpose in life.
Go out and play guardian angel. Talk to people. Ask them questions about themselves. Listen. Think. Find a way to connect them with someone or something that will help them to move forward in their goal.
2. Let others be the star
People love to talk about themselves. Instead of clamming up because you don’t want to reveal your quirks, turn the conversation toward the person you are standing with. Allow them to feel like a star for the evening by asking questions and asking for details about their responses. Let them talk and talk and if you get a chance, introduce them to someone and share a part of their story with that person. This will let them know you were listening and it will also show them you think there is something special about them.
3. Prepare your Elevator Speech
One of the most dreaded scenarios of people who suffer from social anxiety is having someone walk by and ask you about yourself. You can prepare for this situation easily by coming up with 3 answers to rattle off in any given order. The answers to these 3 scenarios will tell the person a lot about you and will jump start any conversation.
a) Somewhere you’ve visited recently and you had a great time.- “I headed to Florida this summer and I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was. Have you ever been?”
b) A goal you have- “I just went to Runyon Canyon for the first time, I’m trying to get back in shape.”
c) Something you love about your profession- Be sincere. Even if you hate your job, you can still LOVE your profession. Talk about it. “There’s nothing like walking away from a home after I’ve helped someone escape a fire. I feel like a hero.”
Now go out, do not make tonight about yourself and share yourself with others. No one is your judge. No one is going to throw you out. If you make a fool of yourself at some point, laugh because everybody plays the fool sometime.
