Chris MacLeod The Social Skills Guidebook

Description

You think your social life could be better. You've felt shy as long as you can remember. Your conversations have more awkward moments than you'd like. Maybe you don't need a ton of friends, but you'd like to have some people to hang out with on occasion. You want to make changes, but you don't know where to start. Lots of people have been in your shoes, so you're hardly a lost cause, and it's never too late to turn things around. The Social Skills Guidebook gives you insights into your interpersonal struggles and behaviors, and offers hands-on advice for developing and improving your people skills. The Social Skills Guidebook goes into detail about solving the three core areas that hold people back socially: 1) Mental barriers including shyness, social anxiety, and low self-confidence 2) Less developed conversation skills 3) A lack of friends and an unsatisfying social life If you look at the people who are socially comfortable in your school or workplace and want what they have, know that you can achieve social success like theirs without losing yourself in the process. You can remain true to your personality and pursue your favorite interests while conquering the attitudes that hold you back, improving your conversation skills, and learning how to make friends. With practice, time, and patience, you can create the kind of social life you want for yourself. The Social Skills Guidebook covers topics including: - Changing counterproductive thinking that stands in the way of your social confidence - Becoming comfortable with your social fears by facing them in a gradual, manageable way - Improving your self-esteem - Navigating the different parts of a conversation - Getting past awkward silences - Interacting in one-on-one and group conversations - Learning how to listen to others and respond appropriately - Identifying other people's nonverbal cues and being aware of your own - Finding potential friends and making plans with them - Deepening your friendships - Keeping your progress going - Improving your social skills if you have Asperger's syndrome The Social Skills Guidebook is written by Chris MacLeod, the author of the extensive, well-visited, free site on interpersonal skills SucceedSocially.com. This book contains all of the site's key advice in a tight, organized, polished package. Review: The best book for helping with social anxiety and other mental barriers - I've dealt with shyness and social anxiety for pretty much my whole life. For as long as I can remember, I didn't know how to approach people or keep conversations going. I was known as the weird kid when I was younger and had trouble making friends. This book has been a lifesaver for me. It covers nearly every conversation scenario out there and tells you exactly how to navigate them. The explanations are thorough and get straight to the point, unlike other books which tend to go off on a tangent. This was exactly what I need as someone who feels developmentally behind. I wanted to be formally taught these skills and not just be told this is common sense. The part of the book that addresses mental barriers to socializing has worked wonders to manage my situation. The most useful things for me were the ways to correct distorted thinking and lifestyle changes that improve mood. I used to get actual panic attacks in certain situations, but now I have the tools to get through them with ease. I feel a lot happier and more confident with myself now. Thank you Chris MacLeod for providing this wonderful resource. Review: First comes the foundation - Thanks Chris, first for me is that you've created the best resource online in social skills that I know of. I definitely prefer it in book form, some word selections are different but are still comparative to the online counterpart. The organization and structure is perfect, I will need to reread it every so often to keep retention in conjunction with experience to solidify the appropriate memories and habits. One factor that motivated me in to purchasing this book was that you made your website free and widely accessible with the clear formatting and intuitive, simple to understand style in which you approach this complex subject. I always enjoy reading non-fiction that changes my view of the world and would accompany me for a long journey.