27M here. Due to a difficult childhood (poverty, parents issues), I focused solely on academic throughout my childhood for survival. I developed strong technical skills but had no opportunity to build social confidence or political savvy.
Now, in a competitive corporate world, I’m finding that my technical-contributions and hard-work are being undermined by my inability to navigate the complex social dynamics of the workplace.
My manager has advised I need to be more ‘influential’ and ‘articulative’ but I don’t even know where to begin.
What advice do you have for someone with low confidence and underdeveloped social skills to survive and thrive in a competitive corporate world?
Comments
Practice practice practice.
You’re not alone, a lot of us would rather write down an answer and hand it over while staring at our shoes. And, unfortunately, people will presume to walk all over you if you don’t find a comfort in interpersonal relations.
Try little things. Always go to the counter to order food, look your order taker in the eyes as you speak. It gets easier the more you do it.
Find little prompts each day and formulate the response. It helps to have a step-by-step guide to hit all the bases of what you want to communicate. Attorneys, for example, tackle problems in IRAC— Issue, Rule, Analysis, Conclusion. From there, it’s filling in the blanks and being concise. I’m not sure what you do, but maybe you can adapt your own formula and gain a comfort with it.
Join a toastmasters chapter
Go to the gyms and bars