I am an introvert. I am also an extrovert.
It all really depends on who I'm with and what kind of setting I'm in. For example, whenever I'm with friends, my quirky personality really shines, and I can easily be myself. On the other hand, whenever I'm with strangers of any age and especially in a professional setting with professionals in all kinds of fields, you may never hear a word from me.
This is because I've always had a fear of not being able to say the right things to people or have the right answers. As a business student who is just starting to enter the professional world, networking is key to get yourself known within the business community, regardless if your're looking for a job or not.
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If I'm at a networking event and want to talk to someone regarding career advice, I never know exactly what to say to the person. People have told me to find a common interest. but my thing is that I don't exactly know how to get to that point. I can't just go up to someone and say, "Hi I love rock music and dogs, can I get some life advice?"
The same goes when I'm presenting a project to my class. When I'm nervous I tend to talk fast just to get things over with, as well as occasionally panic beforehand because I'm terrified of messing up my words or losing my train of thought during my presentation.
Over time, I have learned that this happens to the best of people and more people than we realize are ambiverts in similar settings. When it comes to networking events, I realized that part of the issue isn't even my fault. Some people aren't a big fan or the best at small talk and like to get straight to the point, which detracts from my plan of trying to find a common interest. Other people love small talk before getting to the point of the conversation.
For me, it's easier to talk to someone who has a similar personality as me, in which I feel free to be a bit more like myself, and in the end, I have made a good impression on that person that they'll be most likely to give me more in-depth advice and even remember me at another event. Another example would be whenever I'm with other people my age, and I tend to be really shy until I become comfortable around them, and then I can be myself around them.
For my public speaking, people always ask me how can I be afraid of public speaking when I've performed in plays and musicals in front of hundreds of people at a time?
With theatre, you are given set lines that you memorize over and over again until you have them down to a science, therefore you know exactly what to say on stage. It also helps that all of the lights are shining right at you, blinding you from the audience in a dark auditorium, so you tend to forget that the audience is even there.
Public speaking on the other hand, is a mix of set lines, improvisation and art. Practice is key to making sure your presentation comes out great but sometimes you just have to make up lines on the spot based on your knowledge of the subject, such as when the audience ask questions at the end of the presentation. There's also this particular, eloquent way of sharing your words that I'm still getting the hang of, which to me sounds like an art when hearing from a master public speaker.
But as they say, practice makes perfect.
