to better tolerate situations in which some of your beliefs actually may be true (for 
example, when another person actually does judge you negatively). Finally, exposure will 
provide you with an opportunity to practice your cognitive therapy skills and to improve 
upon any social or communication skills that may be rusty from having avoided social 
situations for so long. See chapters 7 through 9 for detailed instructions for designing 
and implementing exposure exercises.
IMPROVING SOCIAL SKILLS
Social-skills training refers to the process of learning to improve the quality of your 
communication as well as other social behaviors, so there will be an increased likelihood 
of obtaining a positive response from others. Note that most people who are socially 
anxious have better social skills than they think they do. In fact, formal social-skills train -
ing is often not included in CBT programs, and people undergoing the treatment still 
respond quite well. Still, there is evidence that some people can beneﬁt from learning a 
few new techniques to become more assertive, make small talk more effectively, improve 
their eye contact, and learn basic skills for dating or meeting new people. Chapter 10 
describes strategies for improving social and communication skills.