be prepared.  discomfort comes with uncertainty.  if you prepare what you're going to say, anticipating common situations and preparing your own scripts, you'll have something concrete to focus on, and not on something or abstract you can't fight.  some say scripting is unnatural.  the most natural socializers i've seen say the same things over and over again to new people.  just they do it very well.

 btw, i'm from dc too.  best wishes!