Antisocial behaviors are becoming the normal it seems. I notice that a lot of the youth I talk to these days have a hard time making eye contact. It’s not only the young, but many adults have a hard time with it. I just assumed they were nervous or felt intimidated.

I was at one time, a very shy person who finally overcame that barrier. When I’ve spoken at school “career days” I always share the story about how many doors can be opened because you are a good public speaker and don’t get overwhelmed or nervous in public situations.

Many careers are based around public speaking and you don’t want to shut yourself out of those opportunities, whether it’s teaching, politics, public relations etc. You want to keep all your options open. To achieve that you must be able to confront and engage with others. There are courses for this, such as Toast Masters, or with time you just might be able to overcome your fear of public speaking.

Many believe that claustrophobia or arachnophobia are the biggest fears. I have news for you….it is public speaking. Overcome that and the possibilities are endless.

My concern is that society is making us more anti-social than we should be. I came across this and realized everything on this list is true. Do yourself or your kids a favor and teach them that public engagement is ok because social skills are on the decline