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>>Also - fake it till you make it.
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> I can vouch for this method.
So can I. Though an introvert, I can play an assertive role whenever my
job requires it. It just takes (a lot) more energy for me to do this
than if I was an extrovert. And it takes an acute awareness of how my
preferences tend to affect my interactions with other personality types.
I *prefer* to sit alone, but I've learned the *skills* of walking into
a new SME's cube and making smalltalk, or demanding vital data from an
engineer, or even standing on a stage in front of thousands of people.
Many people conflate introversion (in the Jungian sense--the tendency to
be energized from within, and to expend energy dealing with the other
people) and shyness (a behavior or response which can be exhibited by
both introverts and extroverts when faced with certain social
situations). I can't count how many times I've heard people talk about
introversion as if it were a disease, or a personal problem that can be
overcome. Some people offer testimonies--"I used to be an introvert,
but then I joined Toastmasters and suddenly became an extrovert." Yet
most of the brain studies (google for "Jerome Kagan" to find some good
ones) and personality studies I've seen strongly support the idea that
introversion is to some degree an inheritable, biologically-determined
trait.
By the way, though only 1 in 5 people are introverts, I believe the
proportion of introverts among tech writers is much greater (>>POLL
IDEA<<), so I don't think we're straying off topic at all.
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