Some tidbits about introverts and extroverts, prompted by today’s MBTI discussion:

  • When I got to lunch, about half the group from the tutorial session was in the lunch room, but it was almost completely quiet. I’m fairly sure that what happened was that none of the introverts wanted to stay around and chat after the official morning instructional part was over, so we all went down to lunch, and we all sat there not talking to each other. Once the extroverts showed up a few minutes later, there was a perfectly normal buzz of conversation.
  • According to Esther Derby, if you are an introvert and want to say something while extroverts are chatting away and won’t let you get a word in edgewise, a useful technique is: 1) Lean forward; 2) Raise your hand; 3) Open your mouth. The former is a sign that you’re about to act, the second is a sign that they should stop, the third is a sign that you want to speak. If you do all of these together, it should serve as enough of a signal that the extroverts will be quiet for a second.
  • Also according to Esther, if you’re an extrovert and, for some reason, you want to talk a bit less (e.g. to let the introverts speak), a technique that is sometime effective is to sit on your hands. (Presumably because it’s hard to speak without waving your hands around.)

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