Often, when one is getting ready to become part of a new or even already familiar Summer Program, it’s easy to let the anxiety and fear of failure run rampant. It’s also easy to forget that being successful almost always requires putting yourself into these new situations that will give you the opportunity to work with interesting and new colleagues that might help further you career and boost your confidence. We tend to do less than our best because we aren’t confident or comfortable enough to approach unfamiliar people and instead, we hope they will come to us. We tend to forget names quickly and are shy saying so. You might be reluctant to ask others for information you need or have questions about things they might expect you to already know. I can tell you from experience that we all feel that way at some point. People can feel awkward and uncomfortable when introducing themselves or asking questions. Throughout childhood, we’re told to avoid strangers and ask questions only after raising a hand. We’re given little formal guidance on how to approach colleagues, or contacts, make introductions, and remember names. And yet, by the time we’re adults, it’s assumed that we’re experts at these basic skills.
So, what’s the best way to move beyond this?
Your job, from my perspective, is to always present and represent your Personal Brand. That means you get to be human and make mistakes and fail. But the good news is, that is how we learn best. Who knew? When you forget someone’s name just fess up and ask again the next time you see them, giving them your name, because they have probably forgotten your name as well. If you need to know something, go to the person with the answer or who can steer you to the person with the answer. Making yourself do this task just once will give you confidence to do it again. And it helps in creating and maintaining relationships that might make for those possible future advancements. It’s about you, being comfortable with representing your Personal Brand when it comes time to implement your plan of action. Not only will you likely get what you want, but this will also allow those in charge to notice what your contribution will be, because you will be representing their Brand as well. Win – win situation!
So, get started getting comfortable with mastering these critical getting-to-know you skills: Introducing yourself, remembering people’s names, and asking questions? How? By having the courage to fail and make mistakes. And remember, practice makes permanent. Avanti!!
