Networking is pretty important in order to have a successful career/life, but I've always had an issue when it comes to networking. I'm decent when it comes to one-on-one encounters, but when thrown into a group/crowd, I freeze up.

What causes me to freeze?

  1. The lack of authenticity. Ever since reading the 48 Laws of Power, every interaction I observe seems superficial. People act so sweet kissing up to the bosses that it turns my stomach.

  2. People of power are present. I just came from a networking event and everything was.. manageable, until the head boss of our team showed up. When they did, I could not get out of my head enough to get back in the groove.

  3. More people, more problems. In one-on-one encounters, I'm able to maneuver pretty much anything. I only have to deal with one random variable, the other person. However, when you add 5, 10, 20 people or more, I can't keep up.

It's safe to say that my frame is shattered in networking environments. Any advice for how to be better at networking or to simply calm the fuck down?

Thanks.