I'm too shy!

I have a problem. I'd love to study Medicine, but I'm really shy. It's embarrassing for me and in social situations I know what I should say but I don't because I'm too shy. I really think this will effect me :frown:

I was wondering if anyone had any tips to become more confident, or at least appear more confident. Thanks

Reply 1

Bilco

Don't think this should stop you in this field. You will get used to talking to people. More so through uni and the like.

Reply 2

sarsi

You will develop, trust me. You will feel more confident about yourself and start to feel less about what others think. Maybe you should start visiting other countries to open your mind more and meet new people.

Reply 3

hali0112

~Ana~

I was wondering if anyone had any tips to become more confident, or at least appear more confident. Thanks

confidence is one of those things that will improve with time and experience. so don't worry too much about it. but as you're applying for medicine you will probably want to start looking to do stuff like volunteering in care homes, charity shops, hospitals, etc which will all help you improve your confidence and communication skills. it isn't something that will change overnight but with experience you will definitely feel more confident. being in a similar position to you a few years back, this is how i gained confidence. hope this helps.

Reply 4

Tyraell

If you'd met some of the asocial medics that I have...

Besides - there's always pathology.

Reply 5

Woody.

When you are presented the opportunities to speak to people or maybe even do a bit of public speaking, take them. When I did my first speech in front of my class I was a quiet, grumbling wreck. A few years on, I was doing whole school assemblies. Practice really does help!

Reply 6

Narik

Haha this sounds like me. I'm actually quite a shy person ( :ninja:

) but I try not to let it get in the way of things by not running away from opportunities where I have to express myself in front of lots of people e.g. public speaking. When it comes to 'stressful' things like interviews, I just take a step back and think, if others can do it, why can't I ~~when I am much more awesome than everyone else~~? That's pretty much my way of getting over everything. :biggrin:

Reply 7

GodspeedGehenna

Volunteer. Get work experience. Expose yourself to the social situations in a caring environment. The more exposure you have, the more it becomes second nature. If you shy away from it, you will never learn.

You could do things like volunteer as a first aider. Quickly gets you used to meeting new people, asking them questions, discussing the problem, taking a basic history etc etc.

Practice, practice, practice.

I'm not particularly a social person, but I have come to enjoy speaking with people, caring for them, talking through problems with them. It just takes desensitization to the whole thing.

Reply 8

colabottles

~Ana~

I was wondering if anyone had any tips to become more confident, or at least appear more confident. Thanks

You know the best thing you can do? Get a job in retail on a till. Every person that comes up, say hi to them, and gradually build up to asking them how they are, how their day is. It's a job which naturally builds up confidence. I used to be shy, but now I'd say I'm quite an extrovert :p: