Find out what motivates the project canine. Some dogs are food motivated, while others are motivated by going for a walk. What ever you can find that takes the dog's mind off of you and on to the motivator. Jealousy can be a good thing. Some dogs will be motivated to come closer to you when they see other dogs being petted, loved on or getting treats.
Canines can model behavior.
Timid dogs will look to see other dogs' behavior. Timid dogs will watch other dogs to know when they are safe. When the other dogs are not showing signs of fear around people, this will help the shy ones. The dog coming from this back ground may have to deal with the people fear and a fear of other dogs. It might be overwhelming to such a dog to do both things at the same time.