DnD is something I have considered dipping my feet into now for many years. What has held me back? Social anxiety.

Social anxiety is something quite common so I'm sure they will be people out there who may come across this and be able to offer their thoughts/advice on the matter.

I played through my first DnD experience recently and have to say quite enjoyed it. I was very fortunate that my experience was very new player friendly and the DM did an excellent job in explaining things. For me personally the most challenging thing was managing my own anxiety.

I am not a particularly confident speaker in groups, I may sometimes be a little reserved. Not because of being shy (I'm a quieter person but not shy per se), but more because maybe I lack confidence in myself to not sound stupid in how I roleplay, or because I lack confidence due to being inexperienced.

So my question to others who maybe can draw from their own journeys in overcoming this anxiety, is simply what advice/suggestions can you offer to new players such as myself to grow in confidence in DnD wether in be growing confidence in being more vocal (being less of a wallflower), being more creative/imaginative, and being less concerned about sounding silly if and more relaxed and at ease.

TLDR: How can I get out of my shell a bit?

As someone who had a bit of that back when I first started, make sure you're comfortable with the people you're gaming with.  Find a group that's understanding and supportive, not one that's going to mock you or put you down for being that way.  And be kind to yourself.  You're doing something great, but also something that takes a lot of mental effort on your part.  You're likely to run into issues along the way.  Don't beat yourself up for it.  It's not a failure on your part if you don't overcome the issue quickly, nor is it if you find it overwhelming at times and need to retreat.  Just try to set a pace that's comfortable for you.  Oh, and try making small-step goals.  Breaking things down into small, easy-to-accomplish actions can help you see that it's not nearly as difficult as if you're just examining the whole thing all at once.

I had a this in part when I joined my first d&d group.  But I built it into my character.  A very quiet, half elf raised in the woods who knew little about the wider world. So of I felt out of my comfort zone I sunk back into the reserved part of the character. 

Thanks for the advice and input guys. Familiarity breeds confidence or so they say. I suppose it is pretty much the same as trying anything new. At the beginning it feels weird and you second guess yourself. But over time I do hope and think that improves.

I suppose the more you do it the less potential scary it seems. I used to be totally terrified of spiders. But as I'm now the assigned "spider catcher" (my wife hates them too and she made me man up) I had no choice to kinda push myself out of my comfort zone and deal with them. I won't ever physically touch them (eww no) but can catch them with tissue etc now. Talking in groups is far less scary than catching a huge spider 😅. I'll get more confident eventually