Extroverts and Introverts: Knowing the Difference
Maybe you’ve had a great brainstorming session. You’ve refined it without an ego and stayed focused on your objectives. You developed your PowerPoint and your other visuals to support your presentation without getting in the way of your commanding presence. You know exactly what you are going to do backwards and forwards. Now you hear the introduction, you walk across the stage, you take the podium and open with the best joke of the afternoon…silence…a chair creaks…your heart pounds…
Get Real
The fact is, no matter how hard you’ve worked, no matter how prepared you are, there are some things you can’t prepare for. Some audiences will be extroverted, rolling with your jokes until they’re rolling in the aisles. Others take a more delicate touch. An audience full of introverts, is like a favorite old car. It can get you where you’re going, but it takes a more delicate touch. Although it’s up to you to do your level best to get a grip on who you will be speaking to, you never really know until you say those first few words into the microphone. At that point, you’ve got to be able to tailor your delivery to the people in the room.
Mirroring
Most of us don’t mind looking in the mirror. We like what we see. It’s not really about vanity, it’s about comfort; it’s about what’s familiar. If you want to get your point across in front of a crowd, use the technique that every salesman uses. From the first moment you address your audience, read them and mirror them. If they laugh at that opening joke, laugh along with ’em. If you smack into stony silence move forward, and take a more conservative approach. Perhaps they will laugh. Maybe they just need to relax. That’s your job.
Final Thought
If you only remember on thing, remember this important item: Extroverts want to interact. Introverts want to listen. You need to appeal to both groups with any presentation.
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