How to get better at interviewing and interacting with people in general?

[Trisphorin]

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[MilkmanAl]

Well, you could always try interviewing and interacting with people in general. Introduce yourself at parties, make yourself go to office hours, do mock interviews, etc.

 

[Bernoull]

Hi Everyone,

I go to SUNY-Stony Brook. I have completed majority of the premed requirements have received a > 3.9 GPA. Realistically, I only hope I can get into an US MD school. However, one weakness I have is having some difficulty with interacting people outside of my friends, especially people who are much older than me. For example, sometimes I feel very nervous about going to my professor's office hours and talk with them. I realize that it would be really hard for me to get good recommendations if this continues and also this would hurt me during the interview stage of the application. How can I get better at this??? Any suggestion would be very appreciated. Also, would going to a low-ranked public undergraduate school like stony brook hurt my chances at medical school?

Again, thanks for reading this and any comments would be appreaciated.

Has volunteering helped reduce your social anxiety/awkwardness? You gotta immerse yourself in social situations. Talk to people outside of ur comfort group at school. Talk to people in elevators, talk to total strangers it's amazing how much we have in common and how much you can learn from a random barber, the cashier at subway etc etc just talk, talk..

 

[thesituationPhD]

I hear you I went to SB too. No offense to anyone but unless you're fluent in mandarin the chances of holding a conversation on campus is halved. But seriously, go to the career center (near the chem building) they have mock interviews. Shoot them an email.

In regards to the post above, without a doubt start conversations with everyone you can. Act confident. It will get easier over time. Heck even TA for a course, especially organic, you're bound to interact with people in that course.

Congrats on the Gpa especially at SB.

Good luck.

 

[ILikeDrugs]

Sounds like you have some degree of social anxiety. Some people would suggest poppin some pills like xanax/valium but I would say to just jump into many random social interactions as much as you can. IMO, there is no better "cure" to some anxiety inducing stimulus than to constantly put yourself in that situation repeatedly and to make those encounter in close proximity to each other. Try engaging people every day. Whether it be a simple "Hey, how's it going" to some the clerk at the store checkout to engaging in some random school related stuff with classmates. Check to see if your school has some mock interview programs. Just go in there and say you are looking for a job and that you want to setup some mock interviews. Try to get a different person each time so you never become comfortable with the same person. Good luck.

 

[Bernoull]

Another thing that's helpful especially to break the ice/silence with people u don't know it to tell a joke, I'm not talking about monologues or standup here, just something maybe situational. It's okay to let loose and be less guarded.

On the interview trail I clowned around quite a bit, i told jokes about drinking.. not to my interviewer of course, but fellow applicants and it helps break the ice and u can easily transition to talk about other things.

Sometimes we takes ourselves too seriously or we second guess everything we want to do or say, but it's good to be less guarded at times. Personally, I've been a class clown eversince HS, I toned it down for college and racketed it up during my professional years and its makes the 9-5 more bearable....

So yes, try jokes and be ready to be the only on laughing at some of ur jokes tooo

 

[Rickybobby]

Have a couple of beers. Retry. Have a couple more. Retry. Titrate to effect.

In accordance to random percentages on this site I'm gonna say this will be 98% effective.

Good Luck.

 

[PinkIvy08]

Get a part-time customer service-oriented job. I'm dead serious.

 

[FloatOn]

Have your friends introduce you to their friends, or go to social events with your friends. That way, you'll have people you know and people you don't know.

See if a classmate you know well wants to go to office hours together. All of the professor's attention won't just be on you, and when you feel more comfortable, you can go by yourself.

 

[NickNaylor]

Get a part-time customer service-oriented job. I'm dead serious.

This is very good advice. Working a job that requires customer interaction (i.e., retail) will open you up. I'm fairly introverted, but I can interact with people easily because of the crappy jobs I've had in the past.

 

[AnnaBananax]

Get a part-time customer service-oriented job. I'm dead serious.

Definitely true...I worked retail throughout high school and college. I could start up a conversation with a wooden post.

OP, this is something you REALLY need to discover some coping mechanisms for. It's not just about asking for letters of recommendation. Your entire medical education will consist of you having to stand up in front of people older than you and present and support an opinion...not to mention having to be comfortable enough to, say, give a rectal exam to a fat old guy. It's good that you've identified this now, you have time to work on it.

 

[apumic]

OP, you have to immerse yourself. What other posters have said is true. If you are really having difficulty with anxiety in social situations, go talk to one of your school's counselors in the counseling center. They can give you some exercises to help build your confidence in social situations as well as any social skills you may be lacking that could add to your very natural anxiety and fear of failure and rejection.