Social issues

FearlessNomad

Hello Jajingna, I'll share a few things that help me out in social situations.

1. Eat healthy and exercise.  Not only does it make you feel better about yourself, but people will respond to you better too.  You will be more confident in your own skin, and in this state, you send out a positive vibration subconsciously, and other people subconsciously pick up on that and become interested in you.
2. Eye contact is important, as you mentioned.
3. Smile, but don't smile too quickly.  Save the smile for the right time/situation.
4. Become a better listener, and ask good questions.  Your goal will be to make other people feel valued.  A truly confident person wouldn't need validation from outside.
5. For common questions like "what do you do?" come up with a funner, more positive way to explain it.
6. Good posture: think about how Marilyn Monroe owns a room just by walking around.  It works for her, and it can work for you.

Best of luck!

hotelsongs

I found at a young age--by utilising a lot of advice I pried from my mum--that entering a situation with a few 'moves' you're confident in will help you set the tone and feel more easygoing. 

Something I haven't heard in many other places, is that most people associate the distinctive adjectives you use to describe other people, with you. The more you dish out genuine compliments about others (not necessarily just about the one person you may be speaking to, and not too frequently, because the key is that it should always be sincere), the more whomever is around you will begin to take note of all the things you prize and observe in people. It's a simple, casual way to communicate a lot about yourself without ever having to deliver any dreaded self-descriptive speeches. Personally, I just hate dealing with any nagging thoughts about whether I sounded conceited, or robotic, or awkward, or too much like a bad dating show contestant...et cetera.

Additionally,  it helps for me to sit and reflect on actual references from my life that resemble the upcoming thing I'm anxious about. 97% of the time, nothing ever comes remotely close to being as bad as I dread it could be, but knowing this doesn't help; it does me more good to remind myself of previous experiences and focus on what I liked & disliked about them. That way, I can weigh the worth of what's ahead--unless, of course, it's unavoidable. But concerning, say, an invitation to a night out, it helps me tremendously to weigh my discomfort around the alcohol I am likely to be exposed to, along with my anxiety and any valid objections I have to the plans I'm offered to join, against any potential fun and memorable moments I would later be deeply upset about having missed. 

...Kind of wordsy and convoluted, lol. My bad. I hope I made sense!