Career Advice Talk

Are you Introverted or Extroverted…do you really know?

10th July, 2009 - Posted by Robin Ogden -

Well - if you don’t know for sure you probably have an inkling.  I don’t profess to be an expert at this stuff…but, suffice to say that extroverts are usually on the prowl for new acquaintances, we (because I am one!) tend to really like to engage with people and share all kinds of things pretty openly.  We just like the ‘interaction’ piece of life.  We are pretty easy to get to know because what the heck - we share just about everything that comes to mind!  We tend to be more drawn to things that are going on around us - the activity in life -  vs. sitting around intellectualizing stuff.  I guess I think of us as the bee zipping along from flower to flower (making sure we know all the other bees too :)  We are usually very talkative (my friends will tell you that I am an extrovert for sure…) and I will humbly confess here - we like to be the center of attention (from time-to-time).  We really get our energy from being ‘with’ people, not alone.

But introverts certainly have their place on the ‘river of life’ too and from what I understand they’re much less likely to jump right into the middle of what’s going on - preferring to stand back and analyze and be more selective with whom they share things.  Although they might be viewed as a bit secretive, I don’t think that is the case - they are just more reserved and tend to process things differently inside.  They might be more low key than an extrovert, but these are the people who are often experts at what they do, so don’t underestimate your introverted friends.  We (extroverts) can learn a lot from these types.  If you’re an extrovert and really have the need to speak one/one with someone in a deeper type of connection an introvert is a perfect buddy - they really tend to  prefer this type of interaction.  My understanding is that introverts really regain their energy by having ‘alone time’ vs. the extroverts…who get their energy from ‘people time’.

Anyway - what are you?  Want to find out…have a little fun and take this free test and let me know.