Start from the right angle: just being among people, meeting people, talking, growing more comfortable, maybe meeting someone you like, building on that. The feedeee/feeder thing is secondary. It comes later. It's not what you build a relationship on.
Get used to people looking at you and not saying anything when you talk to them; it's just them listening to you, not them judging you negatively.
Think how nice it can feel when someone in a store, or whereever, says something to you; the reverse will be true too. And if the random person you say something too reacts a bit odd, they're still not judging you they're just uncomfortable themselves.
If you feel you're not witty enough or aren't contributing enough to conversations, don't worry. People like it when you listen to them. Studies show that when you don't say a lot but listen and ask questions, the other person will describe it as having had such a good conversation with you even though they did most of the talking.
Relate. Keep only the most intimate thoughts to yourself but otherwise if someone said something about how nice autumn is, share what you hate/like about autumn.
At all times realize that anything you feel when meeting people or being among them is a shared human experience; it's not something that is wrong about you or specific to you. Realize that how you see people -- confident, funny, shy -- is just the way you see their outside and may have nothing to do with how they feel inside.
4 years
