Having no social life can make you feel bored and lonely which is not good for your overall well-being.
If you don’t know how to put yourself out there, then you might want to consider social skills training for adults.
This is especially helpful if you tend to be quiet and reserved.
That’s why developing social skills for introverts is so important.
Today, I want to share with you the exact same advice that I teach to our clients in our social skills coaching program.
What You'll Learn In This Post
1. Develop Self-Awareness
Becoming socially adept starts with knowing yourself first.
That’s why developing self-awareness is an important part of any social skills training for adults.
The more you know who you are, the more comfortable you’ll feel in your own skin.
One of the best ways to do this is to take an online personality test.
Doing so will help you understand yourself better.
That way, you don’t compare yourself unfavorably to others.
You’ll also be able to make decisions more strategically.
This will help you leverage your strengths instead of having to compensate for your weaknesses.
2. Improve Your Self-Image
Most people who find it hard to connect with others tend to have low self-esteem.
They beat themselves up mentally by replaying past failures in their heads over and over again.
Remember, the way you treat yourself will dictate how others treat you as well.
If you want to learn how to like yourself more, you have to think of what’s good about you.
In fact, this is one of the best confidence-building exercises that I know.
To help you get started, make a conscious effort to focus on your positive traits more often.
By doing so, you’ll realize that you actually have a lot to offer in any relationship.
As a result, you won’t be as intimidated by others which will help you figure out how to be more outgoing.
3. Stop Caring What People Think
Most individuals who struggle socially are so worried about what others think of them.
They’re so afraid of being criticized that they stifle their personality and just keep to themselves.
If this sounds like you, you have to get good at challenging your assumptions.
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The truth is, nobody is paying attention to you as much as you might think.
Even if you make a mistake, I can assure you that others would’ve forgotten about you by the time they get home.
Keep this perspective in mind if you’re wondering how to be less self-conscious in social situations.
4. Present Yourself Well
As the saying goes, you never get a second chance to create a great first impression.
To prove my point, let me ask you a question.
Imagine how you’d treat someone who’s smiling and well-dressed compared to someone who’s sad and frumpy.
Very differently, right?
If you want to learn how to be more likeable as an introvert, you have to present yourself well.
Check out this podcast interview with Nicole Russo, Founder of Let’s Get You, where she talks about how to improve your appearance.
Remember, we make snap judgments about people right away based on what we see.
That’s why you have to take your appearance seriously.
For starters, make sure you improve your style and groom yourself properly.
Also, adopt a more open body language by standing up straight and keeping your arms to your side.
Maintain proper eye contact and have a genuine smile on your face.
By doing these things, you’ll appear more friendly to others.
People will assume positive things about you and they’ll take what you have to say more seriously.
5. Develop Your Assertiveness
If you’re tired of being treated poorly by others then you need to figure out how to stand up for yourself.
In order to do that, you have to define what your priorities are.
If you haven’t already, take the time to clarify the things that are really important to you.
And then, make sure you communicate your preferences to others.
If this makes you feel uncomfortable, remind yourself that your needs are totally valid.
You’re not a horrible person for having them so stop feeling guilty all the time.
If you’re not used to asking for what you want, doing this will definitely require some practice.
That being said, start with small requests first so you can get some quick wins.
By doing so, you’ll realize that most people are actually very accommodating.
6. Become More Likeable
The truth is we’re all inherently selfish.
That’s why we like people who like us.
That being said, the next time you interact with someone, make sure you follow your curiosity.
View yourself as a student and see what you can learn from them.
Check out this video if you want to know how to be charming if you have social anxiety.
By being interested in others, they’ll be interested in you as well.
Also, whenever possible, explore common interests early on during your interactions.
Keep in mind that familiarity builds comfort very quickly.
So, make it a point to highlight your similarities as much as you can.
7. Stop Taking Things Personally
Rejection hurts because it triggers the same part of our brain when we experience physical pain.
That’s why most of us try to avoid it at all costs.
But if you’re wondering how to be more socially confident, you have to figure out how to not take things personally.
My advice for you is to put all your focus and energy only on what’s within your control.
In this case, it’s up to you to go out and try to build rapport with others.
How they respond isn’t up to you.
When you get rejected, remind yourself that you have no idea what people are going through when you interact with them.
That’s why whatever you do, avoid making any assumptions.
Instead, make an effort to see the best in others.
8. Engage People In Small Talk
Making small talk is an important aspect of any social skills training for adults.
At the end of the day, you need to be able to have casual conversations with someone you don’t know well yet.
To help you with this, you need to pay attention to what’s happening around you.
Use your environment to help you come up with topics that you can discuss.
Get out of your head, avoid filtering yourself, and just say the first thing that comes to mind.
If you want to figure out how to not be quiet all the time, this is one of the best ways to do it.
9. Become More Talkative
If you want to know how to never run out of things to say, make sure you prepare ahead of time.
If you think about it, similar topics tend to come up in conversation over and over again anyway.
That being said, I encourage you to think of interesting ways to discuss different areas of your life.
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Prepare some stories regarding your work, your upbringing, places you’ve been to, events you’ve attended, and your interests.
Remember, it’s a lot easier to be present in your interactions when you know what to talk about.
The more stories you put together, the easier it’ll be for you to figure out how to hold a conversation with anybody.
10. Improve Your Listening Skills
Most people who struggle socially make the mistake of being too focused on what they’re going to say next.
They’re so in their heads that they’re not actually listening to the person they’re talking to.
If you’re wondering how to be charming as an introvert, remember to be present during your interactions.
Give whoever you’re with your full and undivided attention.
Also, whatever you do, avoid interrupting others while they’re speaking.
By doing these things, you’ll make anybody you talk to feel special.
They’ll leave the interaction with a good impression of you and that’s how you become more memorable.
11. Maintain A Conversation
Most people who are shy and technically skilled have a bad habit of just giving one-word answers.
That’s why people find it difficult to keep interacting with them.
If that sounds like you, you have to get comfortable talking about yourself as well.
For example, when someone asks you what you do for work, don’t just give them a short response.
Feel free to mention what got you into it, what you like about it, and how it makes you feel.
If you want to figure out how to keep a conversation going, remember to volunteer more information about yourself.
12. Have A Sense Of Humor
When you know how to make people laugh, you’ll raise your status in any group.
You’ll be able to lighten up the mood in any situation and people will feel good when they’re around you.
Check out this video if you want to learn the 5 jokes that make people like you instantly.
To help you get started, I encourage you to watch more comedy shows.
When something amuses you, take the time to analyze it.
Pay close attention to the timing and delivery of the joke.
And then, do what you can to integrate what you’ve learned during your next interaction.
If you want to get a feel for how things work, you can just repeat other people’s jokes for now.
Eventually, you’ll be able to come up with your own material.
13. Become More Outgoing
If you’re wondering how to be social as an introvert, you need to be more strategic with your approach.
Since you have limited energy to socialize, you have to make sure you prevent yourself from burning out.
The thing is, you don’t have to go to loud bars and clubs like extroverts if you don’t want to.
My advice to you is to focus on meeting people whose values align with yours.
You can do this by adding a social component to things that you already like to do.
That way, you can still enjoy your interests and meet like-minded individuals at the same time.
As you can see, learning how to make friends as an introvert doesn’t have to be complicated.
You just need to be more intentional with how you go about it.
14. Participate In Group Conversations
If you’re tired of being ignored in social gatherings, you have to be able to participate in a group conversation.
This is a key aspect of any social skills training for adults.
If you don’t know how to do this, you’ll always feel ignored and invisible.
To help you get started, what you’ll want to do is to gather some information about the event that you’re planning on attending.
And then try to anticipate what most people might be talking about.
Also, make sure you visit some reputable news websites and check out their social media accounts before you head out.
That way, you can stay up-to-date with current events.
If you’re wondering how to be more talkative, come up with as many potential topics that you can discuss with others.
By doing so, it’ll be a lot easier for you to participate in any group conversation.
15. Nurture Your Connections
Building any type of relationship takes time.
That’s why you have to have to take the initiative and get good at following up with people.
In fact, being able to maintain your relationships is such an important aspect of any social skills training for adults.
That being said, if you want to know how to bond with others, be the first one to reach out and make plans.
Give people a call, hit them up on social media, and host events regularly.
I know this sounds like a lot of work but there’s really no way around it.
You need to nurture your connections if you want to have lifelong relationships.
Conclusion
If you’re wondering about social skills training for adults, 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 improving your self-image or on maintaining a conversation?
Send me a message on Instagram and let me know.