How Can You Stop Being "The Quiet And Shy Type?
The bullies in school especially liked to pick on me because I was a silent, easy target
I was stuck being branded as the ‘quiet type’ for most of my life while I was in secondary school and even till now. I didn’t say a word most times and people thought I was boring to be frank. I used to much rather spend my time researching, reading and watching documentaries(being an introvert it suited me fine), but soon enough I started feeling left out, lonely and people thought I was weird. The bullies in school especially liked to pick on me because I was a silent, easy target.
I wanted to get out of my shell, become a better friend and be more interesting. I set out to change the way I was perceived at the engineering institute when I suddenly noticed how much I had to add to a conversation (and that I rarely bothered raising my opinion or join in the conversation).
I actively forced myself to join the conversations and people were blown away by my interests. No one knew I was a gamer (and back when I was in school we were rare), that I enjoyed fantasy novels, loved everything about science fiction, was obsessed with history and mythology, was up to date with football and politics.
Suddenly I became friends with the institute’s ‘bad boys’ who enjoyed playing games'[only guys can understand]. I became friends with the elders as we talked politics and I was respected by the academics for being able to talk with them about various subjects and literature. I sought to master the art of making conversation. I sought to always bring something interesting to a conversation and always have something to add to any conversation. When I couldn't I wasn't afraid to ask questions to learn something new.
Hereby not only do you gain respect, but you also connect with people and build up your arsenal of knowledge and conversational topics.
So yeah, soon enough I became less of a ‘quite person’ to more of a ‘plug and play’ person. I could plug into any group, conversation or topic and immediately strike up an interesting conversation. As an adult it has helped me a GREAT deal with work and meeting new people.
So read, polish up on your knowledge and interests and look for someone with the same interests to talk to. Try to always add to the conversation, start small. Join the conversation and add something if you know about it and see how it goes from there. Baby steps and soon enough you will grow in confidence to be able to effortlessly mingle and talk without even thinking about it.
Hope this helps somewhat. I’m still an introvert and would much rather just cuddle with my books and cat to this day, but I’m certainly not the quiet type anymore.