<p>
What finally cured me was being PTA president. I had a role and I knew how to play it. It was easy and a part of my job to introduce myself to every new face I saw. Ever since I've realized that I still have a role - even if it's only as a neighor, or another parent. Most people are just waiting for an opening. It's not that hard to give it to them. Practice really does help.
I completely agree. I've found that I act like a completely different person when I'm working on the school newspaper--because then I know that I'm useful and competent and that I have a reason to be confident and outgoing. Actively organizing something and working towards something concrete makes it a million times easier to approach people and talk to them. I'm still working on not being shy outside of that, and it's hard, but my experience from working on the newspaper has helped a lot.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I think my shyness was the main reason that I wasn't elected editor-in-chief when I ran. I was more qualified than the person who won, but he was more popular and a better speaker (national-level debater). I did get photo editor and news and features editor, but I guess that's one reason to work on shyness... you might lose out on some good opportunities.</p>
<p>It's strange, though, because I'm really talkative (sometimes to a fault!) when I'm with friends or in a small group of people; it just takes me a long time to open up to new people or to feel comfortable in large groups.</p>