Socializing is a skill where not everyone is a professional. Some people like to be inside their comfort bubble where they don’t have to talk to people. But living like this isn’t the way to move forward.
You must step out of your shell and start talking to people. If you feel you lack the social skills to communicate in a relaxed manner, we will tell you about the five tips that will make you more confident.
So, let’s start.
Table of Contents
Best 5 Tips To Improve Your Social Skills
1. Engage With People
You can’t train your social skills at home the same way you would train punching speed at the boxing gym. Even though you can develop and improve social skills, it takes in-person experience to be a better communicator.
Practice makes perfect; this means you will have to engage with people to practice. The people you engage with can be your family, friends, and coworkers. So pick up the phone and invite a friend for brunch or sit down for a chat with a coworker.
The more you talk to people, the better you become at communicating. Make it a daily goal to engage with at least one person. Sooner or later, you’ll become much better at social events.
2. Take Baby Steps
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and your social skills won’t improve drastically in a short time. One of the biggest mistakes is putting too much pressure on yourself. You might be a terrible communicator, but don’t put high expectations just yet. It takes time to improve any skill, let alone the talent of communicating or any other social skill.
So, take baby steps and start small. Make a habit of exchanging words with people you meet at the grocery store, the food market, the gym, etc. Instead of nodding or giving a one-word reply to the shop vendor, greet them and ask how they are.
Even though it might feel tiny and insignificant, small exchanges with people in your community can help you improve your social skills. As time passes, you’ll find ways to lengthen conversations with people you often meet.
3. Avoid Yes or No Answer Questions
We’re not asking you to become a motivational speaker. Maybe your goal is to get on the stage and talk in front of a massive group of people. Social skills are vital in this situation. Regardless if you want to improve your social skills to be less awkward when talking to people, a strategy we recommend is to ask open-ended questions.
An open-ended question is a question that moves the conversation forward since it does not have a yes or no answer to it.
When you ask someone an open-ended question, you tell the person you want to engage with them for a more extended conversation. If you like how they talk, use it the next time someone asks you an open-ended question.
4. Improve Your Body Language
When it comes to improving your social skills, communication isn’t the be-all and end-all. When you talk to people, they also observe your body language.
That’s why it’s crucial to show yourself in the best possible light. And the best way to make someone feel good around you is to smile more. When you smile around people, you give out positive energy. The positive energy touches the people you talk to and want to be around you more.
Even if you are shy, you achieve so much by smiling and being happy.
You put yourself in a better position to start a conversation with someone.
This will ultimately help you improve your social skills. No one wants to talk to a person that radiates negative energy. So put the negativity away and start smiling more.
5. Make Eye Contact
Eye contact is crucial in modern communication. When you make eye contact, you connect emotionally with the person you’re talking to. According to this report, you must make eye contact 60 to 70% of the time to achieve an emotional bond.
If we translate that to seconds, four to five seconds of eye contact is enough to achieve this goal. Fortunately, you can practice eye contact with anyone. When you interact with someone, look them in the eye instead of looking away.
When you look away, you give out feelings of insecurity. So an approach we like to recommend is to practice it with close friends. Let them know that you want to practice your social skills and invite them over for a coffee.
Start a conversation and look them in the eye. It might feel awkward initially, but making eye contact is crucial for improving social skills.
You can’t be sociable if you stare at the ground while talking to someone.
Conclusion
Humans are flawed creatures, and your flaw might be poor social skills. Don’t discourage yourself just yet, as there are many ways to improve your social skills to beat shyness.
We hope this article of five tips will help you improve your social skills and make you feel more confident around people in the future.
Author Bio
Erik Bergman co-founded Catena Media and helped grow it to over 300 employees and a $200 million valuation before stepping away to start Great.com. This iGaming organization donates 100% of its profits to environmental charities. In addition to running a successful online affiliate business, Erik hosts the Becoming Great podcast. He shares entrepreneurship tips with his more than 1 million social media followers. He contributes to sites like Entrepreneuer.com, Business Insider, Foundr, and Forbes.