[arturo40]

Toastmasters

Advantages include * can be in person or remote * safe, businesslike environment with well-defined structure * no need to talk about anything personal * supportive for the very shy - go at your own pace * also challenging for those who don't think of themselves as shy - but have trouble delivering a 7 minute memorized speech in front of a large audience judging their performance

[Grustaf]

That doesn’t sound like it would help with every day awkwardness, does it? I presume that’s what OP wanted help with.

[adventured]

Public presentation training (public speeches, presentations, etc) will help enormously with every day social awkwardness, especially if you do it regularly and in varying ways (don't do the same thing, same speech, to the same people over and over again; if you do the same thing over and over again, you may just be training a sort of fake social muscle memory).

It's quite rare that you can conquer a public crowd but you can't deal with mundane every day social situations (I'm sure there are exceptions, it's just a rare combination).

The memorized speech part isn't ideal over time though. To get started that's fine, however it should be a written speech and intentionally improvized after a few experiences with doing it; and then it should be entirely improvized (and a bit shorter) occasionally as well.

[missedthecue]

I was in toastmasters for several years and it cured my shyness. People now compliment me on my ability to tell stories for instance. It's effected a noticeable change.

[_tom_]

It really does. It's regular practice with supportive people.

And it's structured, so if you are shy about sudden surprise situations, it can be comforting to know what is expected.

It's not a panacea, but it's easy to get started, accessible and designed to help you be more comfortable talking.

Try it, if you want to talk to people more.

[Grustaf]

> And it's structured, so if you are shy about sudden surprise situations, it can be comforting to know what is expected

That’s what I mean, I believe people like the OP tend to be concerned about daily life, random encounters, completely unstructured situations. Just not sure how much public speaking carries over.

I think it’s quite possible to become a great public speaker, singer, actor or similar, and still be shy in every day life. It seems like largely separate skillsets to me. But I’m no expert.