Hiya! Do you have some tips on being more social when attending a con as an artist? I want to talk to people but talking to strangers comfortably is so far out of my comfort zone it makes me want to cry haha, but I need to overcome it..Thank you
I’m a complete introvert so I totally understand what you’re saying! There’s a few things that I do:
Have a prepared saying to greet customer. Having something you’ve practiced a bit makes things easier, and you don’t have to fumble for something to say whenever someone stops by your table. I say “Hi! Let me know if you have any questions.” I really like this because it shows customers I’m paying attention, but doesn’t force either of us into a conversation. I borrowed this phrase from @chiyokoyo, who I tabled with when I was just starting out.
Have a few “standard” questions. If customers do want to talk, I find I feel less anxious when I’ve thought about a few talking points! The best part about being at a con is that you’ll probably have *something* in common with pretty much anyone that walks by. You can ask generic things like “How’s the con for you so far?”, “Have you gone to any good panels/events yet?”, “I love your costume! I really like watching /playing , etc.”, “Is your favorite?”. And because you’re behind an AA table, you can repeat these questions as much as you like because new people keep coming by!
Practice listening. This is more of a generic conversation tip, but another thing that really helps me is to get people talking about themselves, because then you have to do less talking! I’ll ask one of the generic questions above, listen, then ask “Oh, what was that like?” or “That’s crazy! Why did that happen?”, etc, etc. Just being curious and asking for more details is a relatively easy way to keep a conversation from stopping awkwardly.
Come up with a few ways to stop a conversation. This is one of the hardest things for me when I’m at an AA! Sometimes you’ll encounter people that will want to talk a lot, and while it’s nice to talk to a friendly person, they might be keeping you from making sales or working on your art! I usually say something like “Well, it was nice talking to you! Have fun at the rest of the con!” or “I should probably get back to working on this commission, but it was nice to talk to you!”. You can even say you’re going to take a quick break, and have a friend watch your table for a few minutes while you get some water, go to the bathroom, or take your own shopping break. Have some prepared conversation exits if you feel yourself getting overwhelmed.
When it doubt, draw. If you’re feeling particularly anxious or tired, I find that doing some drawing at your table is a good way to reduce the number of conversations you end up in! For the most part, I’ve found that attendees don’t want to bother artists who are at work (to the point that they feel bad interrupting me to buy something, haha).
I hope that helps??? From one anxious person to another, good luck!
