Being able to socialize with others, building good friendships, and being comfortable in public is an essential part of success in life. On the other hand, there are many people who identify as introverts that have a difficult time talking to people they don’t know. However, the good news is that there are many simple ways to build your social skills in your everyday life. Hey everyone, welcome to Life Mastery Hack. Today we are going over How to master social skills as an introvert in 13 ways.

Take small steps to improve your social skills by engaging with the people you interact with every day. For instance, you could ask a question instead of giving a one-word response to a cashier when they ask how your day is going. You could also find ways to extend the conversation with family members or practice your communication skills with distant friends you don’t talk to as often.

There is no doubt that the little digital device you carry in your pocket plays a role in some of your issues with being social. The habit of looking at your phone in public has become acceptable, and has led to a lack of social interaction. It was almost impossible to avoid talking to people around you before there were smart phones. Having a phone was more convenient than reading a novel or using a notepad, which lacked flexibility and easy access. But most people these days have their phones glued to their faces. Due to its social acceptance, people often use their cellphone to avoid interacting with strangers or even people you care. It’s important to put away your phone when you want to connect with others. Putting it away may seem difficult at first if you are used to looking at your phone all the time. To interact with others, you must first signal that you are available and open to talk with. When you put your phone away, you are showing others that you are open to talk, and you also make yourself more aware of your surroundings .

You can also improve your social skills by observing your coworkers. Pay attention to their non-verbal communication, their body language, and the words they use to open a conversation. Observe and learn how they use their social skills to engage with others. Try to take these observations into account and apply them into your own style.

Social anxiety can sometimes affect you when you go out. It’s perfectly normal. Your shyness is not something to be ashamed of. It is okay to be shy. Being shy is not something you should completely eliminate. Instead, you need to learn how to manage it. You may be shy as a way of defending yourself. Shyness can take over you, just as hunger takes over when you’re starving. If you are facing a situation that is difficult or embarrassing, you tend to freeze up out of fear of judgment. Whenever you feel shy, your body takes it as a threat, and you attempt to protect yourself. However, occasionally, this happens way too often and goes too far. Sometimes, it becomes out of control. And It’s something you should strive to avoid. Recognize your shyness and learn to control it if it gets out of hand too often. If you learn to manage your shyness by recognize it, you can greatly improve your social skills.

When you interact with others, try to maintain eye contact. As a practice, set a goal for yourself to keep eye contact for at least three seconds whenever you speak with someone. If this is difficult for you, practice with someone you trust as a start. Explain to them that you are working on improving your eye-contact skills. Make sure you keep eye contact with your coworker at the beginning of the conversation while listening to them speak, and over time the awkwardness of making eye contact with someone will disappear.

Keeping a conversation going with someone you don’t know well can be challenging. What would you talk about with them? Everyone faces different challenges but no specific answers exist. Despite this, asking questions could definitely be helpful. It’s a well-known fact that people like to talk about themselves. Ask people about themselves, and they are willing to response to you. However, open-ended questions are the most effective. Try to avoid asking questions with a simple “yes or no” response. It’s the difference between asking just Are you hungry? and what do you feel like eating? Asking open-ended questions can help you initiate a dialogue. When you ask open ended questions to during a conversation, you learn more about them, and that information drives further conversations. Furthermore, this reduces your pressure as you get used to talk with them.

Negative feedback can demotivate people in a conversation. Making a favorable impression is easier when you choose topics that are uplifting and encouraging instead of complaining or making negative comments. Positive attitude is your best asset for making a good impression on everyone around you. You should mention something positive that happened to you this week, rather than complaining about the news or anything else negative. Social media can be a great tool for finding positive topics to share interesting videos and funny things you saw.

Remembering and talking about someone’s stories from the last conversation with them in future conversations. You are more likely to stand out if you remember details about someone’s life. Whenever you talk with someone, keep a mental journal of what they said. Whenever you meet up again, make sure you bring up something they mentioned in a past conversation. You can say something like, “How was the hike you said you were going to?” or “How was your vacation in Hawaii?” This will make them feel really appreciated.

When you’re just thinking about what you’re going to say, it’s easy to lose track of what the other person is saying and overlook what they’re saying. Being able to shut down our internal voices and focus on what the other person has to say isn’t easy as it sounds. However, there is no doubt that awareness will lead to improvement over time. When you’re in a conversation with someone, try to see you’re more focused on what you’re going to say next than on what they’re saying. You will realize how often it happens. For the most part, becoming aware of this pattern is helpful for improving it. However, if you are still having trouble managing, try mindfulness meditation. A meditation practice can help you control your thoughts and stay present.

Self-confidence doesn’t imply selfishness or awkwardness. We’re all entitled to our own opinions and viewpoints. You should practice standing up straight and saying ‘no’ in a confident voice. Ask a friend if you can practice expressing yourself with them if you’re struggling to build your confidence. It is a valuable social skill to speak up for what you believe in.

Having a sense of humor helps you make friends easier. Although not all people are funny. At least, it can be hard to be funny all the time for a lot of people. Not everybody is like this. And that’s totally normal. The world is a place for people of all kinds. No matter who you are, you can have a great conversation and build strong relationships. We are all different and that makes us beautiful and only one. Make sure you don’t try too hard just to be funny. It’s obvious when you try too hard. It makes everyone uncomfortable. Let yourself be who you are. You’ll find that just talking as who you are will lead to some funny moments.

Whenever you find yourself unable to go out because of the feelings associated with being an introvert, ask for help from your friends. Socializing might be a lot easier if you go out with people who are comfortable around you since you know they got your back. Some of them may simply help you gain access to other people or provide support. It might be easier for you to be in crowds if you’re with a group. Especially with your close friends. It is also possible to just relax with your friends if socializing doesn’t go well for the night. If you’re trying to socialize, it will always be more fun to have friends with you no matter how good or how bad the night is.

As you learn how to successfully interact with others, your confidence will increase. You will become more confident and socializing will become even more fun and easy as your confidence grows. At the same time, you have to expect you will fail at first and putting yourself out there is the only way to build confidence. However, it can’t be stressful to go out every night as practice and you don’t have to do that. It’s important to start small and consistent and it will boost your socializing skill over time. Take part in an activity where you can practice your social skills in an enjoyable way. Start applying them and see how it works or not. Eventually, you can move on to more challenging situations as you gain confidence.