Saturday, June 09, 2007

Caring for Your Introvert

Caring for Your Introvert.

Quote:
"In our extrovertist society, being outgoing is considered normal and therefore desirable, a mark of happiness, confidence, leadership. Extroverts are seen as bighearted, vibrant, warm, empathic. "People person" is a compliment. Introverts are described with words like "guarded," "loner," "reserved," "taciturn," "self-contained," "private"—narrow, ungenerous words, words that suggest emotional parsimony and smallness of personality."

This is true more in USA than in Europe and the East. In some countries, like Scandinavia, introverts seem much more accepted and understood than in the US. Perhaps they are even more common. Fortunately for me, for I am very much one.

Quote:
"[introverts] tend to think before talking, whereas extroverts tend to think by talking, which is why their meetings never last less than six hours."

Aha! This explains to me the type of person who wants to do business with me, and insists on a phone call rather than emails, and whose phone call always ends up being over an hour and yet only contains enough actual information exchange that it should have been over in ten minutes tops.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Six hours? Sheesh, now THAT's parsimonious if I ever saw it!

Some people really don't have much to say.
(I rest my case.)

Anonymous said...

The problem is, that in order to come together and ask for their rights, introverts would have to extravertize. (Or is that extroverse? Externivert? Exovere? Oh, whatever!)

Remember the joke about Liars And Hypocrites Anonymous? They soon found out it couldn't work, because they were never sure whether they actually WERE at the right meeting! Whom to ask, whom to trust?

"Introverts Anonymous", now there's an intriguing concept... :-)

Anonymous said...

Well they do seem to have more fun. As an introvert (do any extroverts spend much time on the internet?), I would say I would rather be an extrovert. Society values them more, at least in the West.

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

Most people say that. I have too.
I recommend the book The Introvert Advantage.

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

If you define "fun" as motion and laughter, sure.