Extroversion: The Search for a Cure ( : )

Time to poke some fun at the "people-people"!

. I’m sitting in a room with 550 other conference attendees. A panel discussion is going on. The panelists don’t seem to know much more than I do about the topics on which they are alleged experts, but I’ve no problem with that. I‘m a devoted introvert, so I just listen.
. There is a microphone in the aisle for people to come up and comment on what the panelists have said. There is no single discussion topic today that heats up the emotions of even the shiest attendees. So only the very outgoing jump at the chance to take the mike. Their voices are amplified and fill the room, which makes the volume of their voices equal to that of the panelists, and lends an aura of authority to their comments.
. Lunch -- usually a pleasant prospect -- is a cause of some anxiety today. Those of us in the leadership category are supposed to gather and share a table with attendees of the same "affinity group" i.e. current involvement in similar types of work. Reluctantly I post a note on the conference bulletin note, the designated spot for these "invitations." The prospect of whipping up some conversation with complete strangers is less than appetizing. I am certainly capable of it, but it comes unnaturally. I think "whose idea was this anyway?"
. I begin to feel, fairly or unfairly, that it's the extroverts' conference. My attention drifts, and my vision changes to that infrequent but familiar and paradoxical perception: everyone who shares the room, extrovert and introvert, is a child of God. How does one reconcile the two emotions: my very human reactions to the people and this sudden hint from the spirit? If we all have the precious spark of the Divine, then the two personality types must have some crucial purpose -- I hope! For example one presumes that, on some higher plane, we’re all here at this conference, to share our little bits of personal wisdom, to edify each other and to leave each other a better person. That’s a very moving way to look at it, though if we’re all parts of the One, why did we individuals inherit so little wisdom? (Mentally I add “Speak for yourself, Frank. Maybe you’re the dull one!”)
. My thoughts drift further to the idea that not only the conference, but most of the rest of the world, seems structured for the extroverts. It's not so very savory to be feeling put upon this way. every introvert is tired of hearing every day.: "Snap out of it. There's no need to be shy!" "Go see a therapist so you will be able to do public speaking." And the worst one: "What's wrong with you? Why can't you be like everybody else?"
. Eureka! I have a solution to this problem that half of humanity has been waiting for: a cure for extroversion! It's a very simple: let them live for a day in our shoes. Wow! Maybe we've got some empathy going!
. It may help to form an image in your mind of somebody obliviously barging into another person's space. Keeping in character for the image say "Since when do you think it's all right to..." or, more mildly "I think that's enough of ... for now!"
. An example that actually happened. At a social gathering the topic turned to how we had met our partners, what was our courtship like, how long was our engagement... the usual stuff. Perhaps emboldened by the direction of the conversation one of the extroverts threw out this question: "How many of you were virgins when you married?" Right there you have an important difference: extroverts have no idea that some people do not live "out front", and would not like to answer a question like that right away and in public, to boot. This is a person I happen to like a lot, so there was no animosity in what I said next with a smile: "Well, I think that's enough self-disclosure for today!" In fact she thought it was just witty repartee, so no hard feelings were apparently caused and we moved on to other things.
. By the way, just to be sure I'm not misunderstood, my inclusion of the cartoon does not mean I equate extroversion with egocentricity. One can be egocentric and either introverted or extraverted. Ditto for "Type A" personalities versus "Type B." So that is a totally separate issue. But I got a laugh out of this cartoon, and hope you might, too.
. Anyway, maybe this is a little consolation, if you recall: "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the Earth." Matthew 5:5 (NIV, KJV) Sounds like time is on our side!