How to be confident at networking? Age thing

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I have zero issue networking with people less senior than me. I almost enjoy having chats to people. But if someone is older or more senior, I just freeze up and become awkward or very self conscious

I have just left a role that involved a huge amount of networking, and I found the helpful things to remember were:

• You will come across best if you are authentic - don't pretend to be someone you're not.
• Being genuinely interested in people is good - sounds like you already have this in the bag, and you enjoy chatting to people. People love talking about themselves, so show an interest in the person you are talking to - depending on the setting, you could ask the very senior person about their role and say how interesting it is, how did they get into that line of work, or if it's more of a social setting ask them about holidays, interests etc. As long as they're talking about themselves and you try not to ask anything too personal, ask them what you want to know - and listen to what they say. Think of some generic questions you can use - something related to your industry? My role involved a lot of travel, so I was able to ask people where they had been recently, for example.
• Try to help other people where you can - nobody likes a strategic networker/leech. Link people up with others who can help them, reply to people's emails, do people (work related) favours if they approach you for them, attend functions if you're invited - even if you don't immediately see any value in doing so for your own work/career. Don't take without giving.
• If you see someone on their own looking awkward, approach them with a big smile and introduce yourself. People are super grateful for this and it happens surprisingly often to senior people because everyone else is just as nervous as you are.
• Try to remember people if you meet them a second time, approach them with a big smile and tell them how pleased you are to see them, use their name, mention something they told you last time so they know you were listening and remember them.

The more you do it, the more natural it will feel and the more confident you will become. If you already enjoy talking to your peers/junior colleagues, it won't take much for you to build confidence speaking to seniors. The people I have worked with who don't do well at networking are the ones who either don't really enjoy it or who view every interaction through the lens of 'what can this person do for me'. If you can enjoy it and genuinely feel interested in the people you meet, it's easy - and fun.