In my experience, all it really takes is having that first initial conversation with someone to establish enough rapport with them so that you can eliminate any anxiety you have towards talking to them after that point. Of course, this is assuming the convo was at least respectable and you didn’t say or do anything too stupid or awkward, so enough to create a decent impression of yourself. It’s almost like you’ve imprinted yourself on them after having that first convo or interaction.
Now this only works if you actually have a full-on conversation with them, preferably one on one. Just saying hi to them when you pass by each other won’t be enough to establish that kind of rapport. But once you get rid of that barrier by talking to them just once, it’s gone for good.
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Well even just sharing names opens up doors, I like to think it’s like a chemical reaction, the activation energy is the greated hurdle, after that it’s far easier to proceed.
I noticed it too. The first time talking to someone it is like daggers in the brain. You don’t know how it’s going to go. You don’t want to do it. You just want to crawl away to safety. But once you actually do talk to them, even about something innocent like the weather, it becomes incredibly easy to talk to that person again. It’s like all the fear is gone. What was so scary in the first place?