Plenty of people experience social anxiety—learn how to build more confidence in your people skills.

A feeling of dread before a dinner, party, or event is something that many people have learned to live with. Social anxiety can make us worry about what comes next. Countless people around the world experience social anxiety, and many of them find a way through it by building confidence. 

Let’s explore ways you can be a more confident version of yourself. 

Cultivating Confidence: Overcoming Your Social Anxiety

Managing social anxiety doesn’t happen overnight, but it can happen one day at a time. These steps can help you to cultivate confidence.

Gather What You Know About Common Social Situations

Before you start working on building up your social skills and confidence, take time to consider what you know about common social situations. What social situations are you likely to encounter at your next outing? What do other people say in these instances? Are there any themes you can follow? The more you know, the less it will feel like a mystery!

Practice Making Small Talk

Small talk is a skill, and skills can be learned. As you learn to make better small talk, you will find that you are more comfortable speaking to different people. It is a talent that translates across many social situations, from standing in an elevator to walking into an interview. 

Make a List of Topics You Are Comfortable Talking About

An excellent way to start building confidence is to find out what you can confidently speak on. Chances are that there are some topics you feel more comfortable addressing than others. Knowing what topics you are comfortable with can help you to practice speaking with confidence. Over time, this can translate to speaking on other topics too. For many people, it helps to talk about what they know or even something they are passionate about. Look for opportunities to share!

Remind Yourself That You Are Not the Center of Attention

A lot of the anxiety that we feel in social situations comes from the belief that people are constantly analyzing us and criticizing us. While this can be true in some cases, it isn’t quite as extreme as we think. In fact, most people probably don’t notice those small mistakes or points of confusion. 

Practice Conversations With People You Are Comfortable With

If you are looking to get better at interacting socially with others, it really helps to start with people you are already comfortable with. Try engaging them in new ways or even in new situations. It can even help to bring people you are comfortable with to new social situations. They can always be your person to talk to when you need a break.

Find Your Own Version of Confident