Great topic! And I like the idea of a spectrum between introvert and extravert. And I’d add that it’s multi-axed, because sometimes the extravert prefers being more introverted. I’m a university professor and an extravert by nature. I love performing before a classroom or room of colleagues. I’m comfortable in front of a class of 30 or a…
Great topic! And I like the idea of a spectrum between introvert and extravert. And I’d add that it’s multi-axed, because sometimes the extravert prefers being more introverted. I’m a university professor and an extravert by nature. I love performing before a classroom or room of colleagues. I’m comfortable in front of a class of 30 or an auditorium of 150. But I love the small group graduate seminar of 8-10 or “Brynstorming” with 3-5 of my PhD students. And sometimes I seek out the focused 1-on-1 in mentoring, or just my own thoughts in my writing on Substack. I’m also very aware of my extravert personality and intensity can be overpowering, so have learned to moderate my enthusiasm and even ask my family and friends to tell me to shut up, and I take that as caring, not as aggression. So I’d say that sometimes I’m intra even if often I’m extra, and they come and go depending on the context, and my mood.
Yes, it's certainly more complicated than pop psychology would have you believe. I'm a hardcore introvert but the thing I most enjoy is keeping an audience of several hundred entertained, thinking and learning for fifty minutes. But then I need to go somewhere quiet for a while afterwards.
Your point about being an extrovert in a group of introverts is well-made. A nice illustration of how it helps us all to be aware of how we may differ from others, and to manage it—and celebrate it.
Great topic! And I like the idea of a spectrum between introvert and extravert. And I’d add that it’s multi-axed, because sometimes the extravert prefers being more introverted. I’m a university professor and an extravert by nature. I love performing before a classroom or room of colleagues. I’m comfortable in front of a class of 30 or an auditorium of 150. But I love the small group graduate seminar of 8-10 or “Brynstorming” with 3-5 of my PhD students. And sometimes I seek out the focused 1-on-1 in mentoring, or just my own thoughts in my writing on Substack. I’m also very aware of my extravert personality and intensity can be overpowering, so have learned to moderate my enthusiasm and even ask my family and friends to tell me to shut up, and I take that as caring, not as aggression. So I’d say that sometimes I’m intra even if often I’m extra, and they come and go depending on the context, and my mood.
Yes, it's certainly more complicated than pop psychology would have you believe. I'm a hardcore introvert but the thing I most enjoy is keeping an audience of several hundred entertained, thinking and learning for fifty minutes. But then I need to go somewhere quiet for a while afterwards.
Your point about being an extrovert in a group of introverts is well-made. A nice illustration of how it helps us all to be aware of how we may differ from others, and to manage it—and celebrate it.