How to be confident and positive in front of adults

From ArticleWorld

To be confident and positive in front of adults is possible once you get over your initial shyness and inhibition. Shyness affects all of us at some point of time in our lives especially when we are young. For some of us it almost becomes a habit to hide behind a wall of safety. This generally happens when we view the adults as people who play major authoritarian roles in our lives. For some people shyness may simply mean having trouble thinking of things to say in social situations while for others it might involve serious outward symptoms of awkwardness. For most, shyness involves a combination of both to a greater or lesser degree. Here are some pointers to help you get over your shyness when speaking with adults.

A few suggestions

1. Make the hard decision to deal with your shyness in a positive manner. Start by thinking of yourself as a person who has a lot of character and presence and believe in your capabilities.
2. Pin point situations or single out people with whom you feel most tongue tied and then the next time the situation props up or you come across ‘that’ person make an extra effort to overcome your shyness. Laugh, make eye contact or make a witty comment and most of all don’t be afraid of making a mistake.
3. Show genuine interest in people and listen to them attentively when they talk. This is a great way of becoming a good conversationalist, letting other people talk. If you do not need to talk much you feel less shy.
4. Practice your social skills on people you feel most comfortable with and build your confidence. Do it with your parents and your parents’ friends or your friends’ parents and before you know you will have quite outgrown your shyness around adults.

Do’s

• Try and try again, it will take some time before you become comfortable in all social situations.

Don’ts

• Don’t be too hard on yourself. Shyness is part of you and it will take some time before it leaves you so do not get impatient and do not give up.