How To Overcome Shyness In Public (4 Tips To Have More Social Confidence)

If going out gives you social anxiety, you're going to want to learn how to overcome your shyness in public.

And a lot more. Let's jump into it.

How To Overcome Shyness In Public

Overcoming shyness in public is actually a pretty straightforward matter. That doesn't mean it's going to be easy, but you can do it with some time and dedication.

Dealing with shyness is something I had to overcome personally as well, because I grew up as kind of a shy kid and kind of a shy teenager.

Then, as an adult, it really started holding me back. And I wanted to overcome it, so I figured out some tricks to do that.

Most Common Questions About Overcoming Shyness In Public

I'm going to cover some of the most common questions on the topic, and give you some simple tips to overcome your shyness in public:

Why Do I Feel Shy To Talk In Public?

Being shy to talk in public is usually anxiety about being judged, which is often a result of low confidence.

If you feel really confident in yourself, you're not going to worry too much if other people hear you. Which brings me to:

How Can I Speak Confidently?

To speak confidently, try the following:

#1. Speak To Be Heard

That means speak with a strong voice. Take a good deep breath before you start talking, and raise your volume.

This is something I see with clients all the time, that they don't even realize how quietly they're speaking.

One clue to know if you are speaking too quietly is if people ask you all the time to speak up, or they kind of lean in or turn their head to hear you, or they say, "what?" all the time.

#2. Use Confident Body Language

To use confident body language, you can start by pulling your shoulders back and having your chest out. That's going to let you get more air in your lungs and have a stronger voice.

However, you also want to avoid other things, like sticking your hands in your pocket or looking at the ground, which are all things which will make you feel less confident.

#3. Make Eye Contact

Make eye contact every time you speak to people. Don't be looking at the ground or letting your eyes dart all over the place.

#4. Try A Public Speaking Course

That's going to give you a chance to practice your voice, but you're also going to get a chance to get feedback from other people who are experienced in this area.

How Do I Stop Being Nervous Around People?

To stop being nervous around people, you need to expose yourself to more people. It's basically like exposure therapy.

Try going to parties, networking events or other social gatherings. Even go on meetup.com and find some groups you like so you can meet some strangers.

Talk to people frequently every time you're out, and it will help you to be less nervous around people.

How Do I Become More Socially Confident?

To become more socially confident, it's going to require practice. In order to do that, you can try the following:

#1. Good Mornings

When you're out walking in the morning or in the afternoon, say hi to people. Say "good morning", make eye contact, smile, and just keep walking.

#2. Chat Up Cashiers

Or basically anybody who serves you, because in this case you're going to have a captive audience and it's going to be easier to talk to them.

Just ask how their day is going or any other basic question like that. Doesn't really matter what you talk about, but just make sure you get talking to them beyond just saying "how are you?"

#3. Chat Up Anyone You Bump Into

Anybody… Could be someone at a crosswalk, a grocery store, a coffee shop, in a lineup, or any other place.

But if there's anybody around, start talking to them about anything you see. Ask a question, make a comment, it doesn't matter. Just get used to talking to people.

#4. Learn How To Approach Women

If you get better at approaching women, you're going to learn a lot of different social skills and overcome your social anxiety as well.

Plus, you'll have a chance to get some great dates. To learn how to approach women, check out this post.

And also, for more tips on how to deal with shyness, check out this post.

Summary

Here are all the answers you need to start overcoming your shyness in public:

Why do I feel shy to talk in public?

The feeling of shyness to talk in public usually comes from having low confidence. If your confidence is higher, you’re less likely to worry about people hearing you talk.

How can I speak confidently?

Try the following steps:

1. Speak to be heard: make sure to use a strong voice, raise your volume and take a good deep breath before you start talking
2. Use confident body language: avoid sticking your hands in your pockets or walking around looking at the ground. Instead, pull your shoulders back and have your chest out
3. Make eye contact: don’t look at the ground or let your eyes dart all over the place
4. Try a public speaking course: it’ll give you a chance to practice and get feedback from experts

How do I stop being nervous around people?

Try going to parties, networking events or other social gatherings (even online ones) so you can get the chance to talk to more people and get progressively less nervous around them.

How do I become more socially confident?

This will require practice. In order to do that, you can try the following:

1. Good mornings: when you’re out walking, always say hi or “good morning” to people
2. Chat up cashiers: it doesn't really matter what you talk about, but make sure you talk to them beyond a "how are you?"
3. Chat up anyone you bump into: ask a question, make a comment, or talk about something simple around you
4. Learn how to approach women: you’ll get the chance to learn a lot of different social skills and overcome your social anxiety

If you have any questions or comments, leave them below.

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