Stephanie Thoma
Networking Strategy Coach, Speaker, Workshops, Moderator/Emcee at Confident Introvert
Professional Training and Coaching
Education: University of California at Santa Barbara
San Francisco, CA, USA
Biography
Stephanie Thoma is a leadership coach, event host, and founder of Confident Introvert. She has facilitated over 1,000 events and established a fulfilling career helping people generate meaningful connections at online and in-person events. Her mission is to help introverts feel confident and establish relationships that catapult them forward in their career. Her debut book, Confident Introvert, has been ranked #1 in Career Guides & Personal Success in Business on Amazon.com.
As a connector, Stephanie’s views around networking have been featured in Forbes, Business Insider, Entrepreneur, and Thrive Global. She has also been invited to speak at Harvard, Northeastern, and Boston Universities as well as internationally. To date, Stephanie has helped thousands of people celebrate their strengths, step into their authentic confidence, and make meaningful connections.
Awards: Solo Female Entreprenuer of the Year 2020 & 2021, Stevie Awards, Bronze Winner & #obo100 of 2020 recognizing human-centered business owners
Passion
Helping introverts become leaders by reducing anxiety, cultivating authentic confidence and connecting with others.
Featured Video
I am willing to travel
More than 100 miles
When it comes to payments
I always get paid for speaking
Topics
Origin Story
I was painfully shy—one of five kids, the eldest daughter with a twin brother, a serial monogamist in friendship, and eventually a first-generation college student. I didn’t feel understood by many people and typically had one friend at a time. When I did connect with someone, I felt it was the exception, not the rule. I was grateful for the connections I had, although they seemed minimal at times, and told myself that one friend was enough.
While the rest of my classmates formed various friend groups, there seemed to be so much gossip, breaches of trust, and promises falling through. It just didn’t appeal to me. So, quality over quantity, right?
But still, I often felt so uncomfortable at school that I’d take a book into a closed restroom stall to read alone at lunch. The anxiety I felt when thinking about being seen alone overpowered the actual experience of sitting solo.
I felt like an outsider and didn’t believe it was possible to deeply and authentically connect with large numbers of people, so I rarely tried. The prospect of rejection brought more anguish than it was worth. Instead, I kept to myself. I assumed people wouldn’t like me and that I’d have to be fake to be popular. I wanted to be true to myself without judgment, so I hid.
But over time, I found a more outgoing part of myself starting to emerge, especially when I began to step into leadership roles. And now, many years later, as a leadership coach.
Example talks
Networking Remotely
Bringing exclusive and often unlisted opportunities to you through networking takes more planning and nerve than cold emailing or submitting your resume into the black hole of the interwebs. However, being open to connecting and helping others – in good times and bad – can help you cultivate valuable connections in your chosen field, stay focused and motivated during your job search, and meet the people of your dream network.
But networking makes many of us feel awkward and uncomfortable. ‘What is my story? Should I talk about the elephant in the room… the pandemic? How can I get a new job, let alone make new connections while we shelter in place?’
You’ll leave this webinar not only with a game plan for your future networking experiences but also feeling more confident in yourself and your ability to make meaningful connections that will help you advance your career.
Networking for Female Leaders
Women face unique challenges at work, from imposter syndrome to the wage gap, this workshop empowers women to advance in their careers through the power of connection and community building. You don't even need to be an introvert to feel anxious at the thought of networking. Do you wish you felt more comfortable meeting new people, but feel like networking is too quick and shallow for you to do it right? Do you feel misunderstood, coming off as unfriendly without meaning to? If this sounds familiar, then I'm excited to invite you to be a part of this workshop.
The Networking for Female Leaders workshop has been designed to address those specific concerns and more. You'll leave this event not only having a game plan for your future networking experiences but also feeling more confident in yourself and your ability to make meaningful connections.
Networking for Introverts
You don't even need to be an introvert to feel anxious at the thought of networking. Do you wish you felt more comfortable meeting new people, but feel like networking is too quick and shallow for you to do it right? Do you feel misunderstood, coming off as unfriendly without meaning to? If this sounds familiar, then I'm excited to invite you to be a part of this workshop.
The Networking for Introverts workshop has been designed to address those specific concerns and more. You'll leave this event not only having a game plan for your future networking experiences but also feeling more confident in yourself and your ability to make meaningful connections.