Royane Real
Conversation Skills for the Shy and Nervous Person
By Royane Real
Author of "Your Guide to Making Friendly Conversation"
Recently someone asked me, “My mind often goes completely blank during a conversation. What can I do to keep my mind from going blank when I talk to somebody?”
This is actually a very common problem. Many people experience the terror that comes from not being able to think of a single thing to say while they are having a conversation.
Does this happen to you? What should you do if you get nervous during a conversation? Is there anything you can do if your mind goes blank when you are talking to someone?
Believe it or not, having your mind go blank in a conversation is something that happens to everybody. Even skilled conversationalists have these occasional moments of awkward conversation.
Most of us can recover fairly quickly from these awkward conversational moments. However, some people become overwhelmed with terror and embarrassment. Having your mind go blank is especially terrifying for people who are shy, or who lack confidence. They feel certain they will never be able to think of anything to say, and they often just stand there, wishing the earth would swallow them up.
The experience of having your mind go blank in a conversation can be especially painful if the people you are talking with happen to be immature or cruel. If the other person in the conversation actually makes fun of you for being shy or being tongue tied, this can cause a loss of confidence that can linger for a long time.
If you are worried about having your mind go completely blank when you are trying to make small talk with somebody, here are some tips that might help you.
The first, and most important tip is that if your mind does go blank during a conversation, don’t criticize yourself for it. Don't criticize yourself while this is happening, and don't go back to revisit the event in your mind to criticize yourself later.
Criticizing your self will make the problem get much, much worse. You must make the commitment to refuse to criticize yourself. This is an essential step to prevent your mind from going blank in the future.
If the conversation seems to be failing, don’t beat yourself up mentally because of it. Remember, you only have responsibility for 50 % of the conversation. The other 50 % of the responsibility belongs to the other person.
Don’t harshly compare your conversation skills with other people who may be more extroverted or more experienced in making conversation. This habit of comparing yourself and putting yourself down will do absolutely nothing to improve your own conversation skills.
Stay focused on self improvement, and not on self criticism!
This article is by Royane Real, author of the popular report "Your Guide to Making Friendly Conversation"
Do you want to be more confident about your conversation skills? Download my special report and watch your confidence levels soar!
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