Overcome Social Anxiety with the 3-Second Rule
Some of us find it hard to just walk up to strangers and start talking—we get anxious and overthink the situation. Avoid the stress by making the decision to go up to the person within 3 seconds.
Over at Live Your Legend, Scott Dinsmore gives 32 tips for attending large events. His 3-second rule is great if you have trouble approaching strangers:
When you see someone interesting to talk to, you have three seconds to walk up and say hello. Wait longer and you’ll either overthink it and screw it up or overthink it and never approach. Not sure what to say? It doesn’t matter. Anything is better than nothing, because it takes you from being a no-name in a sea of faces to being an actual person with a story (who had the courage to say hello). If it’s someone you’ve always wanted to meet, you’ll at least be able to open by thanking them for their work and how it’s impacted you.
Check out the link for more easy tips on meeting people at large events (and don’t confuse this with the five-second rule).