It's common business wisdom that networking is the key to success. Even in an online social networking world, most people still make contacts the old fashioned way - by meeting them face to face.
But what if you are a small business owner who is also shy? Are you doomed to business failure while your less shy competitors win all the attention and grab all the customers?
Don't let shyness keep you from achieving networking success. Understand these five shyness triggers and strategies to overcome them.
Trigger#1 - Shyness is brought on my not knowing what is expected
Arrive early and volunteer to help; take on the role of official greeter or registrar. This gives you a sense of purpose and authority; you need to speak to people and ensure they have a name-tag and know where to find the bathrooms. This breaks the ice and makes it easier to initiate conversations.
Trigger#2 - Shyness is brought on by focusing too much on ourselves.
Reduce you shyness by focusing on making others more comfortable. Designate yourself the head of the table in your own mind. Sit down at an empty table or a table with one person. Introduce yourself. When the next person arrives, introduce that person to the person already sitting there and yourself. And so on. This will cause them to see you as the "leader" at the table. People will then naturally include you in their conversations.
Trigger#3 - Shyness is brought on by feeling like an outsider.
Volunteer to be on a committee. It gives purpose to your small talk and makes it easier to think of things to say. Plus people will get to see a demonstration of the great skills you bring to the activity and will feel more confident recommending you to others.
Trigger#4 - Shyness is brought on by feeling pressured to sound clever.
Come prepared. Before the event think of three open-ended questions you could ask other people that would get a conversation going. Many people feel pressured in social situations because they think they have to be entertaining. In reality, people are starved for a good audience. If you are too shy to talk but are able to listen well, you can be a popular companion.
Trigger#5 - Shyness is brought on by feeling other people are judging you.
Talk about someone or something other than yourself. Shyness has a lot to do with self-consciousness. Someone who can't possibly talk about herself finds words flowing fluently when she talks about a subject she is passionate about. Overcoming shyness begins with recognizing the situations that trigger it. Planning ahead to deal with these triggers will enable you to network successfully with confidence and ease.
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