If you want to become less introverted, you first have to understand what makes an extravert (extravert or extrovert). How would we define the extravert?
The extravert is a very outward person who thrives in social situations. They not only feel comfortable around people, but they thrive in socialising, in commanding attention and controlling the conversation.
The extravert isn’t too concerned with their own internal thoughts and feelings, and can talk and express themselves without much thought required. If you compare that to how introverts operate, we would typically run the monologue in our heads, think about what we want to say and how it will sound before saying anything. The extravert often speaks without much conscious thought beforehand.
Don’t blame the extravert
I don’t want to sound negative towards the extravert. Far from it, I often wish I was more extraverted. The ease in which extraverts handle social situations and the instant liability of (most) extraverted and social people is something I wish I was better at.
The extravert is confident and charismatic. Think of a typical salesman. I don’t mean the slimy vacuum cleaner salesman from the 1950’s, I mean the guy you met in that meeting last week that made you laugh, made the meeting fun, and made you want to do business with him again. I mean the woman that you phoned who helped you get a great new tariff for your mobile phone.
Extraverts can also being annoying. There, I said it! Without much thought process in their actions, it can be very annoying to us introverts when conversations are hijacked by an extravert. Loud, powerful and well-used voices give them the edge in the conversation battlefield. They can make introverts even more inverted, making it difficult for us to speak up and be heard.
Here’s quite a funny article on extraverts
Extraverts are memorable. Sometimes funny, loud and even annoying, but always memorable.
What is your experiences with extraverts?
Read more about how I gained more confidence in conversation
