Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Asking someone, especially other men, for help is displaying respect. It acknowledges them as your superior in the domain of th

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Asking someone, especially other men, for help is displaying respect. It acknowledges them as your superior in the domain of the request. This works remarkably well with strangers. If you’re in a new social situation where you don’t know anyone, identify someone who clearly does and at an opportune moment just ask him for help. Something like: “Hi, I’m dondraper36. I don’t know anyone here, would you please help me get introduced to some people?” Obviously, use your own words. If he declines politely thank him for his time and excuse yourself. Sometimes people won’t want to help you. They may be in a busy, distracted, in a bad mood, or just a jerk. However, this should be pretty uncommon. If you find that everyone is disinterested then you need to look at the common factor, which is yourself. Also, I hear really good things about Toastmasters. Practicing public speaking in a supportive environment may be helpful too.