How socially confident do you consider yourself to be? Whether you are the most socially confident person you know, the least socially confident person you know, or somewhere in the middle, there’s always room to improve your social confidence! Your social confidence governs your ability to interact with other people and it directly impacts your self-confidence, your professional life, and your personal life. When you are confident around other people, life will feel easier and your social experiences will be more enjoyable.
If you are ready to enhance your life and strengthen your social confidence, try these exercises:
- Talk to people. It sounds simple, but as with all things, practice is the way to improvement. The more you do something, the more comfortable you become doing it.
- Consider a part-time job or volunteer position that involves interacting with people. If your current job or situation doesn’t require you to interact with people, consider a part time job or volunteer position that does. You will not only strengthen your social skills, but you’ll earn some extra money, make some new connections, or both!
- Schedule social activities. Set aside few hours each week for social activities and incorporate them into your weekly schedule. You will be more likely to get out and enjoy some time with others if it isn’t impacting the rest of your routine or obligations.
- Study socially confident characters in movies and books. Observe and analyze strong characters and note how they carry themselves, speak, and make eye contact. Think about what makes them appear confident and in control and study that.
- Practice making eye contact. It may seem awkward at first, but the more you do it, the more natural it will feel. Confident people make eye contact when interacting with others. You can study this behavior in others either in person or through watching movies and television.
- Stand up tall. Just as averting your eyes will make you seem to lack confidence, so will slouching and having bad posture. Imagine you were the president of a company or even the United States…how would you stand? Just like eye contact, you can study this behavior in others either in person or through watching movies and television.
Some of the exercises may feel awkward at first, but stick with them…the results will be so worth it! If you have any questions or need support, I’m here for you!
