For all the changes happening in how we communicate, human beings have not lost the desire for the human touch. We're told retail is dead but the malls are packed. As we shop, we want to go local and meet the people who make the products we love. We want to see the hands that mold. We want to see the eyes that have the vision that we want to be a part of.
So it breaks my heart when I work an event and I'm out there, meeting my new and existing customers and so many other vendors are sitting behind their tables, staring at their phones.
We spend a relatively huge amount of money getting in front of these potential clients. The clients are being assaulted from every direction. They pass you once, maybe twice. You're watching your phone. You're looking at cat videos or pictures of people's meals. You're not earning your own meals.
The same goes for networking events. You pay a lot of money to be somewhere. Even if it's free to you, you're taking time, which is infinitely more valuable than money. If you're there to stuff a goodie bag with pens and brochures, you're wasting your time, which means you are wasting yourself.
Shyness and anxiety are natural and not everyone is a natural at engaging in conversation with strangers, but there is no growth in the comfort zone. Stretch yourself. Fight the laziness that lives in all of us. Work harder.
After all, what is shyness but the refusal to put in the work required to walk up to someone, hold out your hand, and say, "Nice to meet you."
