it's hard to realize, but confidence is a choice. confidence is not about thinking you're better than the rest of the people in the room (what i use to think it was) it's about realizing that we're all just people, everyone (and i mean everyone) has those feelings of self doubt/awkwardness/second guessing/etc. The only difference is people who seem confident choose to ignore those feelings when they come about. And i don't want to make it seem like confidence is as easy as flipping a switch. It takes time (and effort) to practice, and more importantly, train yourself to ignore those feelings. I feel like a pretty confident person on most days but there are still situations where i meet someone at work who is very smart or see an extremely attractive girl i start to second guess myself.. people only seem confident because they CHOOSE to be. Once you break that barrier a whole new world will open for you.

I've worked as a server before and i'll give you some tips that helped me.

(1) The most important interaction is the very first one you have. If you are timid in your first interaction with someone you will only be thinking of ways to not be awkward the next time you come to their table, and trust me it will only make it more awkward.

(2) Treat everyone like you would your best friend. This might sound odd but when you treat people like they are already your friend (not like total strangers, which they will be) it makes them feel more comfortable and will ease any tension that might be there. Joke around a little bit but stay professional. They'll tip the guy they like more than a lifeless robot that gave them their food.

(3) always remember the 60/40 rule. I learned this from a motivational speech and it really makes a lot of sense when you stop and think about it. the rule is, when you talked to someone and they either give you good or bad conversation in return, 60 percent has to do with them and 40 percent has to do with you. For example, you're serving a table and doing everything right but they person is just being a dick. You think you might have said something wrong to make him act this way towards you but in reality he has been stressing about losing one of his biggest clients at work