There have already been a lot of good tips here. That’s why I’d like to add one more thought that goes in a completely different direction: Your problem might indicate a strong autistic trait. Do some research, observe yourself to see if you notice any others, and have a professional evaluate you if your suspicions are confirmed.

Just remember that most people just wanna be entertained and talk about themselves. Ask regular questions that you wish someone would ask you, and you solve both of the challenges.

If you say or do something stupid, acknowledge it and move on with the rest of the day.

Follow through. If you say you will check out a book /show/movie/ band…actually do it, and be honest about what you think, it will give you something to talk about.

Try to have a question and a compliment on standby for everyone you see regularly. You might need to devote a few minutes to this daily but it’ll be worth it.

Never expect anyone to do anything for you and you won’t resent them when the inevitably don’t do anything for you. The people that actually do things for you despite your lack of expectation, probably genuinely like you and want to be around you.

Don’t apologize about everything you do but be sincere if you do apologize and then CHANGE YOUR BEHAVIOR.

A few things that I haven’t read here:

1. Everyone at work is stressed. Everyone wants to be somewhere else, but has to pay bills. Therefore, don’t take it personal if people are angry, frustrated, snap at you or don’t want to talk. Many of the people that come across as mean and unfriendly are nice and chill off the clock.

2. Likewise, accept if people keep their distance. Consider how much distance you want to keep, and how much you trust which coworker. Again, nothing personal, just the way people are. As someone said so nicely, often, politeness is more important than friendliness.

3. Shared suffering is bonding. “Sucks today, eh?” is a complete sentence and shows that you are on their team. Be careful around talking about specific people or talking politics. And if you do, start slowly. Feel out the other person first, and always consider how big the chance of them being a backstabbing bootlicker is, and how much damage they could do to you in that case. Don’t be paranoid either, but don’t blindly trust strangers.

Got some advice I feel really strongly about and I’d appreciate your ear. I feel deep down this will help you immeasurably.

Grab a free copy of Andrew Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People”. It is not about how to manipulate people, nor is it a bullshit step-by-step self improvement scheme. It’s about how to get along with people and the benefits you’ll see from doing so.

Carnegie wanted a book how to get along with people using natural human nature. He wrote to universities all over the US and was told such a book didn’t exist. So he decided to write one.

There’s no “Do these steps and become a social Tyrannosaur!” It’s mostly just him telling stories of travelling the US, taking in other people’s experiences and adding some of his own. The neat part, and he stresses this up front, is that you can pop the book open at any point and read a bit. There’s no particular order to follow. (For this reason I’d find a hard copy better than digital. You do you.)

You’ll find some bits where you think, “That’s been working for me and I didn’t even know I was doing that!” Other parts will leave you thinking, “No wonder I always fail at that sort of thing.” It’s pretty much all short stories you can distill lessons from, not a bunch of preachy crap.

Here’s one for taste:

Carnegie had a dinner party with him, his wife and another couple. The other guy ran his mouth non-stop while Carnegie politely listened, only interjecting to make it clear he was following. At the end of the night the guy complimented Carnegie on his oratorical skills! LOL, Carnegie barely said a word and this guy came away saying Carnegie was a masterful conversationalist and an intensely interesting person.

We can see that sort of thing with Bill Clinton and Mamdani. Watch them interact with people; those boys are a masterclass on this. They listen, never looking for an opening to interject their talking point. The person they’re speaking to feels heard. And that person comes away saying how awesome those guys are at talking!

This is less advice for at work and more just life advice in general: dress better.

I hate it because my go-to comfort clothing signals to people that I don’t want to be interacted with. But if I dress up just a teeny tiny bit, even in a very casual, low-effort way, suddenly people smile at me, make jokes to me spontaneously, give me random compliments and have more patience with me when I’m talking.

Clothes change the difficulty level of people/socialization. It makes sense but it’s also so opposed to how I’m wired. I still struggle with it.

If you work for a for-profit corporation, your peers are all probably feeling soul-crushed and the same as you.

Things are better when you work somewhere that people love their jobs.

You gotta say hello to people, even if they don’t say hello first

Find out what your coworker’s nerdy interests are, then do some light research on it.

Then the next time you see them, ask them a bunch of questions about the subject. Try to talk little. Just listen and ask more questions.

People who are nerds about some topic love to talk about that subject. This is the easiest way to break the ice. Show them that you respect their knowledge on the subject, that you’ve learned a lot from them. Thank them. They’ll respect you more too.

After a few weeks of doing this with others, you’ll have their respect and then you can begin to increase the amount that you talk.

Examples: art, sports, cars, bicycles, motorcycles, movies, craft beer, wine, computers, astrology, astronomy, growing food, etc

play pretend.

seriously. stop being you, be someone else. look at how other people interact and pretend to be like that.

it works. most people aren’t that sophisticated, they just want you to be mirror and approve of them, and they will like you if you do that. most social interaction is petty and shallow stuff, and you have to learn to embrace it if you want to be good at socializing.

Being a bit shy makes things extra hard when it comes to fitting in and socializing. Keep swinging. Good luck and all the best.

Something that I remember reading many years ago has stuck with me. In general, people like talking about themselves. Ask questions about what’s going on in their lives. If they have pets ask about those. People love their pets. Ask about their family if they have one. The harder part may be that you need to show interest. If you want to connect to these people, try to get to know them to some degree. You don’t have to know everything about them, but if some is married and has kids, get a pulse on the situation. If someone has a dog, try to remember that and ask about it. As a person with dogs, I could provide hours of stories and pictures.

Don’t be political or share strong opinions, at least until you know your audience. Find out what interests they have them ask questions about that stuff. I know something about everyone on my team that I can talk about. Maybe not tons, but enough to get a conversation started that I can pivot on. When you find common ground, share something about yourself related to that.

I keep using dogs as an example, but half of my team has at least one dog. That’s an easy ice breaker. From there you can pivot many directions.

You, and pretty much everyone else, are a poor judge of how people see yourself. Nine times out of ten, if you were to tell someone that you are socially awkward, their response would be, “what? No. In the the socially awkward one.”

Just listen and ask questions.

I kinda question the basic premise - whilst it’s nice to have friends at work, it’s better to build a social life outside of work. If you’re not gelling with people socially at work, oh well, it’s just work, it’s what you do to pay the bills.

I have a few questions. How old are you? Are you male or female? And exactly what do you do for work?