What do you do to overcome your shyness?

be spontanious

Find out what’s causing the shyness, first of all.

take ecstasy

I don’t think introverts ever become extroverts, but a good start is to build confidence by finding your niche.. a career you like is important, friends that support you (not ones that make you feel inferior), etc.

@aviona cocaine offers a more sober confidence, if the questioner needs a shorter-term solution :)

get drunk?

no but in reality what @upholstry said is good, sound advice (minus the coke maybe)

Realize that life is short. Really. You should put yourself out there and show everyone what you have to offer because if you don’t, one day, I have a feeling, you will regret it.

Well, a lot of times you are shy because maybe you don’t know what to say to someone. So what ever situation you want to improve your social skills in, just find out different things to say. if you wanna learn to talk to girls more or what ever, learn what some good conversation topics might be and go for it. And practice makes perfect, the more you try to talk to people the better you get at it.

I owned and ran a retail store for 10 years. That took care of that.

get nervous, talk loudly, get shifty.
Actually, I don’t do that as much anymore after spending years waiting tables. I just don’t give a shit anymore.

Be careless for some time!

We become shy cause we think of what could be responses of people. This is true, for are you shy when you’re alone? I guess, no one is.
So, think positive of others’ responses. At first, think as if they’ll praise you or accept you for what you’ve done.
If ever someone doesn’t, say congratulations to yourself; cause only after attending you they’ve acted back. So, in the first place you’ve suceeded in communicating to them what you want to.
If someone criticizses, recall that “people throw stones only at fruit bearing trees”. Congrats again, you’re not barren or worthless, you’ve born a fruit.

Sometimes I just indulge it, when I’m feeling particularly socially phobic. Otherwise, I come online and talk to people, or go out of my room, or out of the house… I always feel better when I make the effort, and find that talking to people is pleasurable.

Force myself into the situation, like “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead”.

The first thing you need to do is quit beating yourself up for being shy. It’s who you are. It would be a very loud world if everyone was an extrovert. The best thing that has worked for me is to not worry about it so much. If I worry less, I allow myself to live in the moment.

HOWEVER, some people need therapy and medicine to overcome the social anxiety. Social phobia is a real illness.

The only way I overcome my shyness is to be around people. Most people don’t seem to notice. They see that I am just a nice quiet person who doesn’t mind being by himself.

@Amoebic: ”... I just don’t give a shit anymore.”

I could talk to people just fine—if it was on someone else’s behalf. I also started practicing what I wanted to say in my head before I said it, and I forced myself to say it.

Part of my problem is that there was so much I wanted to say, that being shy got in the way of it. So I learned what I needed to in order not to be shy.

Spend time with confident friends and educate yourself with a topic that would interest most people, believe in yourself and see all life as vulnerable..:)

I’m not sure how old u are but I was always very shy as a child and as i’ve grown up I’ve just learned that others opinions of me arent as important. I know am just myself and if they like me and what i have to offer than great, if they dont well theres always other people out there that will. I love makin jokes and givin people crap which I used to only do to people that were really close to me but now I do to everyone and it seems to work out alright. I guess just find something you enjoy or are good at and capitalize on that it will make u more confident.

A couple baby steps for you:
-Hold open doors for strangers when you have the chance. It makes it easier for people to approach you
-While walking down the street, try to acknowledge and smile (not with your teeth) at others
-join a local toastmasters club www.toastmasters.org
-check out this site for other resources that can help you progress in becoming less shy:
http://networking-2020.com/s/