What DO Extraverts think of Introverts (and vice versa)?
It’s the most obvious personality trait… the preference continuum
with extraversion on one side and introversion on the other. Carl Jung called this our “Attitude”.
RED and YELLOW energy sits in extraversion with GREEN and BLUE comfortable in the introverted space (reminder of the colour types click here for pdf).
Introversion_______________________Ambiversion_______________________Extraversion
Remember, this is all about PREFERENCE not ability. There are times and contexts that push any of us to the ‘other’ side. We may even choose to go to our opposite preference. But the question is:
How do you ‘show up’? In other words where do feel most comfortable on that spectrum? My own preference is for relatively high levels of Extraversion (but that doesn’t restrict me responding from any position on the line).
DEEP QUESTIONS!
In my live workshops I often split the room into self-identified extroverts and introverts (there are a fair few who claim middle ground – and that’s OK too). The perceived quiet ones to my left and the ‘loud’ ones to my right.
The task is to decide amongst your group a great question to ask of the opposite type. Examples include:
I to E
“What are you hiding with your bluster?”
“Are you all excited like this at home, too?”
“What do you really think of quieter people?”
E to I
“Do you ever have an immediate answer?”
“Why are you so worried all the time?”
“Do we (the extraverts) annoy you?”
Interesting answers too – which I’ll let you know another time 😊
But the big breakthrough is when the Extraverts address the Introverts and conclude. “If I ever act the way YOU do, it is because I am sad or upset!”
Prompting the realisation from the Introverts: “And If I act like you do, it’s because I am angry or frustrated!”
Each side of that preference unconsciously superimposes THEIR preference on the other type – concluding (again, subconsciously) there’s something ‘wrong’. This alone helps both ‘sides’ of the preference spectrum to start to understand the other.
Yoo Wisdom: We’re not ‘wrong’ we’re DIFFERENT! If you have yet to read my new book, then download the first chapter free at this web page. You could become adept at reading and understanding yourself and others like never before.
Andy (and the team at Yoo)
