Published on 12, July, 2020
i am volunteering at the moment but im struggle to communicate well ive always been very quiet but only recently found out im autistic whenever im volunteering i always wait till im spoke to as have bad social anxiety and find it hard to start conversations and keep them going how can become more socially confident and feel better about talking people the main reason i struggle to start conversation is worry i will be ignored then laughed at and i do anything to avoid embrassment how can i be better at making conversations with the other workers? any advice is appreicated
Great that you are volunteering. I've done various volunteer roles in the past 30 years, some more intense than others, at the moment I volunteer in a local park and it's brilliant, no politics, just "is this a weed?" or "where shall we plant that?". I don't really have to talk to anyone if I don't want either, as I can just say 'I'll go over there and do that'.
I've met some great people through volunteering, in general most people who volunteer are sound (not all but mostly), so don't be afraid to say actually can I just get on with this. You may find some of your fellow volunteers have their own thoughts, issues or problems with self esteem - you already have something in common - you're all volunteering for the same place and you're giving the most precious thing you have - time, to do it.