OMG, I’m an introvert!
Okay, if you don’t know what “OMG” means, ask a teenager (that’s how I learned what it meant). Now, let’s talk about the introvert thing.
My wife and I were having a relaxing dinner one night recently. We were sitting around the kitchen table talking when I made some off-handed comment about being an extrovert (it fit into the context of the conversation).
She looked over at me and said, “Uh, honey, I hate to break it to you but, you’re an introvert.”
I smiled and said, “Yeah, sure, I’m an introvert [insert laugh track here].”
She then looked at me quite earnestly and said, “No, really, you’re an introvert.”
I protested strongly. I said, “Come on, I’m a public speaker and founder of the world’s largest networking organization — I’m not an introvert! I can’t be. I mean, you’re joking, right?”
She absolutely insisted that I was an introvert and proceeded to share with me all the ways that I have introverted tendencies. Well, I have to admit, I was taken aback by this. All the examples she gave were true, but I still couldn’t believe that I was an introvert. On the other hand, we have been married for 20 years. I mean, there’s a chance that she might actually know me pretty well.
A situational extrovert
So off I went the next day to do some research. I did an internet search and found a test that tells you whether you are an introvert or extrovert. Was I in for a shock: The test said that I was a “situational extrovert!” It explained that I was something of a loner that was reserved around strangers but very outgoing in the right context.
It was at that moment that I said, “OMG, I’m an introvert?”
In the haze of my surprise, some very important things came into clarity for me. It struck me why I started the BNI networking organization more than two decades ago. I was naturally uncomfortable meeting new people. This approach created a “system” that enabled me to meet people in an organized, structured networking environment that did not require that I actually “talk to strangers.” OMG, I’m an introvert!
Read the complete article from Dr. Ivan Misner at BizJournals
