QuickBites: Advantages Introverts Have When Speaking in Public
Too many people believe you need to be an extrovert to enjoy or excel at public speaking. Thankfully, this isn’t the case. In fact, if you are an introvert, you have several advantages.
In this short episode, you’re going to learn about three of these advantages and the benefits they provide.
The first advantage that introverts have is that they usually want to be sufficiently prepared for particular occasions. In the case of delivering presentations, they develop their talks in advance and practice them. A huge advantage here is that they can revise any part of their talks.
On the other hand, extroverts — who like to wing their talks — usually cannot go back and revise a part that didn’t work so well or replicate those that did.
The second advantage is that introverts do not have, nor do they want to have, the so-called gift of gab. Consequently, their presentations are tight and concise. This is a win-win because not only are they more comfortable by getting to the point, but their audiences find these talks easier to follow, understand, and digest.
The desire to get right to the point can also be a detriment for introverts in that while they want to cut the excess fat off their talks, they might cut off much of the juicy meat that makes their presentations engaging.
The third advantage introverts have when presenting is that they often have excellent listening and observation skills. This gives them a tremendous benefit in that they are keenly aware of the instant feedback they get from their audiences. This positive feedback could include people nodding their heads, smiling, or taking notes. It could also include negative but helpful feedback, such as confused looks on peoples’ faces.
On the other hand, non-introverts aren’t usually as in tune with subtle feedback and might overlook signals that would help adjust their talks on the fly or revise them before their next presentation.
If you’re an introvert, you can be thankful for the advantages you have when speaking in public. Of course, not all three of these may pertain to you because any label introvert, extrovert, or other is absolute. But if not all of these, there are other advantages you have and can embrace.
And if you’re letting the fact that you’re an introvert keep you from public speaking and sharing your gift with others. Perhaps you can be inspired by these famous people who are self-proclaimed introverts.
- Warren Buffett
- Elon Musk
- Barack Obama
- Clint Eastwood
- Micheal Jordan
- Lady Gaga
- Mahatma Gandhi
- Julia Roberts
- Meryl Streep
- Tom Hanks
- Christina Aguilera
- Elton John
- Beyoncé
- Abraham Lincoln
- Issac Newton
- Albert Einstein
- Bill Gates
- Steven Spielberg
- Eleanor Roosevelt
- Mark Zuckerberg
- Larry Page
- JK Rowling
- Charles Darwin
- Dr. Seuss
- Steve Wozniak
And although I’m not famous, I’m an introvert. So if you want to reach out and discuss how you can be a card-carrying introvert and a successful speaker, feel free to reach out to me.
