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A Wallflower’s Guide To Social Interactions
Tips to make your human connections less intimidating
I’m a cocktail.
An exotic blend of 50% introvert and 50% extrovert. I love meeting new people and getting to know what makes them tick. But I hate that initial feeling of walking into a room full of strangers and having to implant myself into a conversation. I’d rather be at home, on my couch, binge-watching Succession.
After attending numerous networking events, job interviews and first dates, here are some simple techniques that have helped me ease the awkwardness of human interactions.
Pre-prep
To make approaching conversations effortless, we need to cultivate daily habits that ease the pressure of having to perform on the big day. Think of it as practice. When you do it daily it becomes less terrifying.
Look Up
Eye contact is a fundamental aspect of nonverbal communication and important for understanding human interactions, yet people rarely do it. I live in London and if you so much as look at someone on the tube you’re considered a weirdo.
Normalise eye gazing
Start by making eye contact with people you cross in the street, people in the coffee queue…
