Top Unconventional Tips For Building Social Skills
Communication skills are important for cultivating strong emotional relationships. By way of interacting with people, you build a strong base of responses and actions that can improve your emotional and social capacity even further.
On the other hand, engaging in social interactions presents a challenge to some people. Be that meeting new people or chatting with old friends, social engagement can slowly metamorphose into an obligation, rather than remain a form of entertainment and social need fulfillment.
Studies, channels, blogs, books – these are all mediums that people turn to for strengthening social skills. But just like rigorous diets and strenuous exercise people recommend for achieving physical adeptness, simply going out and being social is the one advice you are likely to hear the most – and use the least.
And just like with the diets, we would like to throw out the window all the silly designs and show you something different. Here are a couple of ideas for boosting your social confidence but we warn you – you might find them slightly unorthodox.
Surround Yourself with People with Different Interests
The entire idea that connects these ‘tips’ is that you should get out of your comfort zone. Granted, that’s not exactly a revolutionary idea. The concept of exposing yourself to new experiences is often proposed by contemporary psychologists, but it is still to grow into a habit. The first bump on the road for most of us is that we are unable to detangle ourselves from the safety net of our daily routines. That is why our proposal to engage in discussions, or even just spend time, with people that are the opposites of you can be of great help.
By spending time with people that you virtually have no similarities with might seem radical and ineffective at first, but in the long run, you will be amazed by the results. Here is why.
Basic psychology dictates that people that spend time together eventually get closer. The feeling of closeness and mutual trust builds in the first two hours of meeting someone and, in most cases, the second encounter already brings the aura of familiarity. This means that, even if you are not feeling the spark with a specific person, the fact that you have spent at least a couple of hours in effective communication will boost your relationship.
But that is just the beginning. During your encounter, you will undoubtedly touch upon several subjects that you either are not exactly well-versed in or disagree with the present individuals.
Both cases are excellent for social skills building. Broadening your horizons with topics that you are not familiar with brings more experiences to try out, while open disagreements are good for strengthening your confidence – precisely because you are potentially scared of them.
Ask Daring Questions – and Answer Them
Once again, kiss your comfort zone goodbye. With eccentric questions, the attempt to stay outside of the conversation is immediately doomed. The real deal with such questions is that you plunge right into the untested waters, which can be either a conversation starter – or a lesson for your confidence.
This might be a tricky problem for some, but when we say eccentric questions, we do not mean very personal questions – rather questions that you do not know an answer to. Ask and answer, because both are exceptional ways of overcoming the fear of social interactions.
Play Social Games
Games are a vital part of our development. Through play, we can learn countless life models and devise techniques for life ahead. Children are not encouraged to play games for no reason. The brain is divided into two hemispheres, and the widespread notion of them operating separately is popular across the globe. However, that can be changed.
By combining the power from both hemispheres, we can learn through playing. This means that people who like to draw and use different-colored pens can learn faster than those who do not. Hence, mental development and mental skill thrive if we employ these creative devices. On the other hand, social interactions are a combination of mental and emotional. This means that by playing games with others, you can boost both your emotional expertise – mood, emotions – and practice logic, coordination, problem-solving, etc.
The choice of games can affect the progress of development greatly. For social skills, however, the most important criteria are entertainment and the presence of interaction. Your primary task is to make sure you are having fun, all the while being in a situation where other people are interacting with you.
From Monopoly to a game of poker with your friends, you can practice being social and build social skill (and various other skills) and simultaneously have fun. You can go as far and combine that with the power of social media swarming the world through the expansion of mobile phones. They have become an indispensable part of our lifestyles, so you can use them to your advantage for a game round or two with your crew. You can even go as far and use your phone to taste a title or two in the exceptional libraries of live dealer games featured in online casinos that promote social gaming.
Ask for Feedback
The final thing that we would like to propose is asking for feedback. After exiting the safe zone, you will probably find yourself in situations that are peculiar to you. This means that you will have to apply behavioral patterns that are not consistent and generally stand out from your usual patterns.
And the best way to learn about the progress of your skill development is to ask for an evaluation from people who know you best.
You might notice some changes by yourself, but people that surround you, i.e. are not you, will have even more success in assessment due to objectivity they apply.
