[muditmudit]

If you are in SF/Bay Area, I would highly recommend taking a course from Jaunty (http://www.jaunty.org).

I took their Co-Ed Comprehensive course (twice!). They are not cheap, (around $1600 for eight week course when I took it), but for me, there is a clear demarkation in my life pre-, and post-Jaunty.

I read a lot of books (Art of Conversation, Seduction, How to Win Friends and Influence People, etc), but none of them came close to this course.

They target social intelligence with basic conversation skills, humor, body language, etc.

I would also highly recommend taking improv comedy classes. In SF/Bay Area, I recommend Made Up Theater (https://madeuptheatre.com/). I took their classes for over 3-4 months. That really helped me build on conversations (Yes, and...) and not let them die.

(Edit: added improv comedy section)

[mrfusion]

Can you tell me more about juanty? What’s it like, how does it work?

Would it be worth taking a trip up to ny or sf for a course?

[muditmudit]

Regarding it being worth it for you, that totally depends on finances, and if you are able to find someone to crash with for the duration of the course. If money is no (or little) matter, then I think it'd be worth it.

I signed up for Jaunty after being in a social rut for years. I tried books, videos on YouTube, online courses, and 1-on-1 coaching with a life coach. I didn't feel I was getting results that I wanted.

With Jaunty, the course is organized in eight 4-5h class once a week. We met on Mondays at 6pm in SF. There were 20-25 other people, both men and women, in the class. Some were from tech, but not all. When I took it for the first time, I was 27. There were people that were younger than me, and some that were 40+.

Each week, we did some theory in the class, and then exercises related to them. We all had homework, and an "accountability partner" to keep us on track. We also organized events to practice stuff we learned in class.

Looking back, the stuff we covered is very basic. But for me, at the time, it didn't occur to me naturally at all; it took practice for them to become close to second nature. We worked on eye-contact, slowing down, listening, humor, accepting and giving compliments, being assertive, etc. We also practiced basic approaches, and starting up and keeping a conversation going with complete strangers.

I still go back and look at my notes from the class. It helped my career at lot. I am better able to connect with colleagues, and more importantly, with managers and recruiters, and ask for more during reviews.

[mrfusion]

Thanks for the detailed write up! 8 weeks definitely wouldn’t work for me. I’ll Have to check if they have a one week course or anything like that.

[muditmudit]

You're welcome and good luck :)