Would you like to leave a lasting impression when you interact with people?
If so, then you need to learn how to be memorable in social settings.
Today, I’m about to share with you the exact same process that I’ve used to build rapport with others in any gathering.
What You'll Learn In This Post
1. Think Of What’s Good About You
Most people who struggle socially have a bad habit of ruminating about their flaws and past mistakes.
That’s why they have low self-esteem.
Check out this podcast episode with Anita Kozlowski, Founder of Live With Power Training Institute, where she talks about how to overcome mental barriers in communication.
Remember, your thoughts affect your emotions.
If you want to know how to be memorable in social settings, you need to shift your focus.
Instead of beating yourself up mentally, make an effort to think of your positive traits instead.
Keep in mind that nobody is perfect and we all have our shortcomings.
But you get to decide where you put your attention to.
If you’re wondering how to like yourself, consistently think of what’s good about you.
The better you’ll feel about yourself, the more charismatic you’ll come across during your interactions.
2. Come Up With Things To Discuss
Imagine writing an exam that you didn’t study for.
You’d probably feel pretty anxious, right?
From what I’ve noticed, those who struggle socially approach their interactions the exact same way.
Remember, preparation breeds confidence.
If you’re wondering how to be memorable in social settings, take the time to come up with things to discuss.
Before you attend any get-together, I encourage you to do a bit of research.
Try to anticipate what most people might talk about.
At the very least, think of interesting ways to talk about your work, your upbringing, places you’ve been to, events you’ve attended, and your interests.
From Shy To Social
Discover proven steps to approach and talk to anybody no matter how shy you are.
I also encourage you to pay attention to trending topics, popular shows, and current events.
When you know a little bit about a lot of things, you’ll always have something interesting to talk about.
This makes it easier for you to interact with others.
The more stories you put together, the less nervous you’ll feel in any social situation.
You’ll experience less approach anxiety and be able to make small talk with anybody.
When you know you have something valuable to share, you’ll figure out how to express yourself verbally much easier.
You’ll be able to participate in any group conversation instead of being so quiet all the time.
3. Appear More Friendly
The thing is, you can be really smart and interesting.
But if you don’t present yourself well, then who’s going to know?
Whether you like it or not, your appearance really does matter.
Your style and body language are the first few things people see.
If you come across as someone unfriendly, then you might rub others the wrong way.
Check out this video if you want to know how to be socially attractive without saying anything.
Remember, nobody can read your mind.
If you want to know how to be memorable in social settings, you have to appear more friendly.
To help you get started, make sure you have an open body language.
Stand up straight, keep your chin up and avoid crossing your arms and legs.
Maintain proper eye contact and have a genuine smile on your face.
Also, make sure you dress appropriately for whatever social gathering you’re in.
In any case, your clothes should be clean, well-fitting, and have neutral colors.
By learning how to be approachable, you’ll come across more inviting to others.
People are going to be inclined to interact with you and they’ll take what you have to say more seriously.
4. Remember People’s Names
As the saying goes, a person’s name is the sweetest and most important sound in any language to that person.
Keep this in mind if you’re wondering how to be memorable in social settings.
I know for me, as soon as someone says my name, that person has my immediate attention.
That’s why you have to get good at remembering someone’s name when you meet them.
By doing so, you’ll make whoever you talk to feel acknowledged.
If you want to get good at remembering someone’s name, spell it out in your head.
Try to use it often in conversation as well.
You can also associate their name with an image that you’re familiar with.
By doing these things, you increase the chances of remembering someone’s name the next time you see them.
And when you do, they’ll be totally impressed and you increase the chances of them liking you more.
5. Focus On Your Commonalities
Remember, we like people who are similar to us.
If you want to figure out how to be memorable in social settings, explore mutual interests as much as you can.
For starters, make sure you ask more open-ended questions.
That way, the person you’re interacting with has to keep sharing.
You can also volunteer more information about yourself.
In this case, if someone asks you what you do for fun, don’t just give them a short response.
Take the time to elaborate on your answer.
Feel free to discuss what got you into one of your hobbies, what you like about it, and how it makes you feel.
If you’re wondering how to avoid awkward silences, make sure you and the person you’re talking to have lots of information to work with.
That could trigger other topics that you can discuss which makes it easy to maintain the conversation.
6. Learn To Make People Laugh
Knowing how to make people laugh is such an important skill to develop.
When you can banter well, anybody will feel good when they’re around you.
If you’re wondering how to be memorable in social settings, you have to improve your sense of humor.
Check out this video if you want to know how to be witty and charming.
What better way to learn to be funny than by watching more comedy shows.
What you’ll want to do is to pay attention to the material, timing, and delivery of the joke.
To help you get started, you can just repeat other people’s jokes for now.
That way, you’ll get a better feel for how things work and you’ll see some quick wins as well.
On that note, make you sure don’t overdo this.
You don’t want to be that person who’s always trying to make jokes.
You’ll make it hard for others to connect with you and it gets pretty annoying after a while.
You’ll want to just sprinkle in humor in your conversation.
Lastly, make sure you treat people the way you also want to be treated.
Don’t put someone down just to get a laugh from others.
Always have positive intentions and leave people better than before you met them.
7. Practice Active Listening
Remember, there’s a reason why you have two ears and one mouth.
Once you’ve taken the time to prepare what you want to talk about, you just have to let things go after that.
If you want to know how to be memorable in social settings, you have to practice active listening as well.
The next time you interact with someone, be present and really try to see where they’re coming from.
Lean forward to show interest and nod in agreement to validate what they’re sharing.
Whatever you do, avoid interrupting someone when they’re talking no matter how excited you are.
Take a moment to pause and wait a few seconds before you respond.
By doing this, you’ll make whoever you talk to feel important.
They’ll leave the interaction feeling good and they’ll look forward to seeing you again.
8. Ask Interesting Questions
Being able how to make small talk is an important skill to develop.
At the end of the day, you have to be able to exchange polite pleasantries, especially with people that you just met.
If you’re wondering how to be memorable in social settings, you have to be able to get past that.
You can’t just talk about the weather or what traffic was like earlier that day.
In order to connect with others, you have to get out of small talk and have deeper conversations.
The best way to do this is to ask more interesting questions.
For example, instead of asking someone how they’re doing, you can ask them what’s been the most interesting part of their day.
Instead of asking what they do for work, ask them if they have a passion project that they’re working on.
Instead of asking what they do for fun, ask them what’s a skill that they’ve always wanted to develop.
These questions really get people thinking and will prompt them to open up more.
That way, you’ll be able to get to know each other on a personal level.
The better you are at doing this, the more meaningful interactions you’re going to have.
9. Tell Good Stories
As a social skills coach, I’ve worked with a lot of engineers, programmers, and developers in the past.
I noticed that most of them struggle socially because they just don’t know any better.
Due to the nature of their jobs, they sit in front of the computer all day.
They’re paid based on their technical expertise and they’re not really required to be social.
That’s why they lack the knowledge and experience when it comes to interacting with people.
If you want to know how to be memorable in social settings, you have to be able to communicate effectively.
That’s why you have to figure out how to tell good stories.
Tired Of Feeling Lonely?
If you’re struggling socially and would like some help, let’s connect.
The next time you share something, make sure you structure it well by having a beginning, middle, and end.
Set up your story by giving some background information and creating some contrast if it applies.
Use descriptive words to engage the senses and leave out unnecessary facts.
You’ll want to emphasize how things make you feel instead.
And then, release the tension once you conclude your story.
Also, use your hands to accentuate your points and vary your tonality when you speak.
When you do these things, you’ll come across as a captivating storyteller and be able to hold people’s attention much better.
10. Stop Trying To Be Perfect
I don’t know about you but I can’t stand being around someone who only talks about themselves.
I know people like that and I do my best to stay away from them.
The reality is, we all relate to people’s struggles better.
If you want to figure out how to be memorable in social settings, don’t be afraid to show some vulnerability.
We’ve all experience hardships in our lives so stop trying to be perfect all the time.
Feel free to share some of the mistakes you’ve made and struggles that you’ve had with others.
The more you do, the more genuine you’ll come across.
By being vulnerable first, you encourage the person you’re interacting with open up as well.
If you want to know how to bond and build closer friendships, this is one of the best ways to do it.
Conclusion
If you’re wondering how to be memorable in social settings, I just shared with you my best tips.
Feel free to go through them again and implement them as much as you can.
And now, let’s turn it to you.
Which one of these tips are you going to implement first?
Are you going to work on developing your sense of humor or on telling good stories?
Send me a message on Instagram and let me know.