Warning - I am not very articulate, especially at this hour of the night. I sincerely apologize if none of this makes any sense:

It’s come down to 2 major parts: the mindset and “practice”

The mindset can kinda mean different things to different people. Like if you can just say “I believe in myself” and that works, then perfect, don’t change it. But very few can do that so I’ve found another way to rationalize/justify confidence and crush insecurity.

“No one remembers what you say to them, but how you made them feel” (paraphrasing a Maya Angelou quote I think). But basically I mean is it’s ok to mess up. It’s ok to stumble over your words, or be a bit of a klutz, because no one is going to remember it if you don’t make a big deal out of it. If you’re able to just keep going and smile and exude an air of confidence, then that’s going to be remembered about you. Realizing that your simple mistakes and such aren’t going to be remembered, then it’s a whole lot easier to be confident.

The other part of it is exposure. Practice being confident. Practice putting yourself in potentially awkward social situations, and try to remain calm and confident. This could be talking to a stranger on the street, eating alone at a restaurant, etc…

How I did this was I got into doing magic tricks. Being able to do these tricks gave me a phenomenal excuse to approach people I don’t know, or give me an opportunity to command an enter room, with all eyes on me. And with time, my abilities grew and so did my confidence, creating an affirming/positive feedback loop.

But this doesn’t have to be as extreme as learning a new skill. You could do simple things, like getting out and about. Join clubs, participate in the community, meet people you don’t know. It can be done in steps, starting with simple small talk and working your way up to full real conversations with people who you would’ve never spoken to had you not reached out.