Life as an Introvert

I’ve talked about being an introvert before. I’ve talked about being an INTJ, the misconceptions of introverts (shyness in particular), and responding to lists about introverts. But I’ve never done this. I made a video!

Reaching an entirely new audience, I’m talking about what it’s like to be an introvert. I discussed a few different topics, such as:

• Shyness
• Small talk
• Alone time
• Parties
• Answering your phone
• Being centre of attention
• Being observant
• Social anxiety
• Practicing conversations
• Being asked, “What’s wrong with you?”
• “Introversion is bad”

So, check out the video:

Any introverts reading this? What your life like as an introvert? Let me know in the comments below.

An Introvert’s Life

In response to Huffington Post’s article, 10 Things That Don’t Make Sense To Introverts, I’m going to talk about the points that it brings up and related them to my own experiences.

According to the Myers-Briggs test, I’m an INTJ. Of course, this isn’t entirely scientific, and really has no bearing on my real personality, but it’s good for giving a general idea about my personality. I am what you would consider one of those highly logical, calm, deep-thinking introverts that tend to be direct and don’t beat around the bush. As I’ve said before, I am not shy. I just dislike inane conversation with strangers in social situations. However, my new job will allow me to get straight to the point and have fun with science. So, let’s get on with it! I renamed the points so they’d be clearer.

1. Parties

Can’t stand big parties, especially if there aren’t many people I know. I prefer spending time with friends. If I know everyone at the party, that’s perfectly fine. No need for meaningless small talk.

2. Small Talk

Like I said before, small talk is mostly meaningless to me. However, I do it. I like to talk about the weather, actually. But it has to do with the fact that I’m interested in the weather on a scientific level.

3. Alone Time

I value my alone time. Very, very much! I like walking alone, watching my favourite TV shows alone, and especially reading alone. Since I don’t have to interact with people, I feel my energy recharging. Constant contact with people tires me out.

4. Shyness

Introversion does not mean shy. I’m not shy. I was when I was a kid, but I grew out of it. Just because I’m quiet doesn’t mean I’m shy. I’m listening.

5. Answering Your Phone

I really dislike talking on the phone. I prefer to text or email. I just don’t like talking to people unless I can see their face. I’m an observant person, so I like to have full sensory input while I’m talking to someone so I can accurately judge the person’s attitude. Phones take that away, and I feel like I’m running a machine without all the components. I also hate answering the phone when I’m having a quiet moment for myself. It’s my time, and a phone is intrusive.

6. Hugging Acquaintances

Unless they’re close to me, I prefer not to hug. But I love hugging my daughter. That’s the best thing in the world.

7. Open Office Plans

Having worked in an open plan call centre, I can say it’s not my favourite thing. I felt far more comfortable with my own classroom while I was teaching English. I don’t want half wall partitions, I want full walls and a door. It’s quieter and I can concentrate better.

8. Being the Centre of Attention

When I played hockey, I avoided scoring goals. I didn’t want to be the centre of attention. In my previous job as an English teacher, I often was the centre attention, but with small groups. Now that I’ll be presenting science in a science museum, I’ll have a bigger audience, and am forced to be the centre of attention. But since I’ve been vlogging and making YouTube videos, I’m trying to make myself be the centre of attention.

9. Being Observant

I watch. I watch everything. I watch people and how they behave. I’m pretty good at seeing people’s attitudes and reactions. I adjust my approach accordingly. I notice what people say and do. And I take note.

10. Introversion Is Bad?

Absolutely not! In general, at least for my kind of introvert, we are very observant, learn quickly, understand things quite well, and don’t take things at face value. We want to know the facts. We want to know how things work and why they work that way. We also tend to know bullshit when we see it. As thinkers, we tend to make good decisions, too.

Any introverts out there? I’m sure some of you are. What are your thoughts about these points that the article brings up? Let me know in the comments below.

Is the Online You Really You?

Here’s an interesting question. If you blog, do you write with your personality? Or do you sound different in your blog? Are your blog posts conversational, or are they more like formal articles? Do they show you?

I talked about that on my YouTube channel, as well. Is it really me on video, or is it scripted? Take a look.

In real life, I can be silly. I talk with a funny voice or say silly things. But on my main channel, I tend to be more calm. I’m not spontaneous. My videos are completely planned. But if you look at my vlog channel, I’m more natural. I don’t plan what happens. Things just happen and I document it.

What kind of person are you in real life? Is it any different than how you are online? Let me know in the comments below.

Authors Answer 83 – Author Quirks

June is the month you get to learn a bit more about the authors. You’re going to find out some interesting facts about them. You see, authors are people, too. They have their quirks, idiosyncrasies, and talents. This week, you’ll learn something unusual about the authors.

Question 83 – Can you tell us one quirky fact about yourself?

Allen Tiffany

I scored in the 7th percentile on English GRE. I was not an English or literature undergrad, but I applied to a big state university’s Graduate Creative Writing program. They accepted me based on my publication record to that point, but asked me to take the English GRE “just because”. I agreed, did not study for it and got creamed because so many of the questions were about all the literature most English undergrads have already read. Nonetheless, to the best of my knowledge, I’m one of their more successful writers.

Tracey Lynn Tobin

A quirky fact? Hmm…I don’t know. What is considered quirky? How about the fact that I sometimes sing Disney tunes while I’m alone in the car? Or that I sometimes act out scenes from my stories in the shower to see if they sound right? Or the fact that I collect Funko Pop vinyl figures and I’m rapidly rounding in on having 700 of the little friggers? Those are all fairly quirky, right? lol

H. Anthe Davis

I hate driving and won’t go anywhere new until I’ve thoroughly investigated the route on Google Maps and had a few days to stew on it.  I haven’t driven on a highway since I got my license; I just use surface streets.

S. R. Carrillo

Um, some would argue that I am all quirk, no filler. One really strange thing that I’ll say about myself is that, a lot of times, some of the elements in the stories I write tend to end up becoming reality for me, long after I’ve written it. It’s not really all that cool, seeing as how I write dark, crazy stuff, but maybe that means I should write a happy, healthy story – and try to get that one to stick. 😛

Eric Wood

The only thing quirky I can come up with is that l wear mismatched socks. I really wouldn’t call that quirky though because I’m definitely not the only one.

Paul B. Spence

I programed a computer for the first time when I was five. It used punch cards. Does that count as quirky? How about having broken just about every bone in my body, some more than once?

Jean Davis

Only one quirky thing? Well, the most obvious is that I have bright hair. Currently, it’s pink with blue and purple streaks. I’ve had bright hair since 1986 with only a couple years of attempting to be colorless due to dress code restrictions. Why the rainbow locks? It’s a mojo thing, and really, it’s a great conversation starter.

Elizabeth Rhodes

Hmm, quirky facts. I always have a hard time with these questions because I’m not sure what about me would qualify as quirky. I can pick up objects with my toes, does that count? Or the fact that I still have a baby tooth that refuses to come out to this day?

D. T. Nova

I tried growing “hot-blooded sideburns” once and found out they’re not worth it in real life.

Gregory S. Close

This is either a quirk or just a quirky story, I’m not sure…

I once won a Jeep from a national contest through 7-Up.  It was one of those things where the bottle cap had a prize like “Free 16 oz 7-Up,” or a “Sorry, try again!” message stamped on the inside, so you’d pop open the bottle and then see if you won anything.  I bought a six pack on a Friday (part of a long weekend trip to visit my brother at college and play D&D) and on the last bottle, which I opened the following Monday (after returning to my own school)… Pop!  There it was.  “You Win a Jeep.”

I was really excited.  I didn’t have a car of my own, so this was pretty cool.

As I read the rules to see how I could claim the prize I discovered the contest had ended at midnight the day before.

Because I was young and stupid, I did not contact the contest to see if I could claim the prize anyway, assuming rules were rules.  Later on, I realized they may have awarded the prize anyway.

I won a Jeep that I did not win.  Used up all my good contest luck.

Oh well.

Jay Dee Archer

I guess the quirkiest thing about me is how I used to refuse to wear jeans until high school. I’d always wear sweatpants. I used to think that jeans are too scratchy, and I wanted to be comfortable. When I showed up at school on the first day of high school wearing jeans, a lot of my friends were shocked. I just shrugged it off.

And of course, I like to read encyclopedias for fun!

How about you?

Tell us one quirky thing about you. What’s unusual about you? Let us know in the comments below.

Who Am I?

This is in response to Solveig Werner’s interesting post. She described herself in the form of a poem, and it was a nice and simple way to state who she is. I’m not a poet by any means, so I’m not going to tackle this with poetry. That would just be awkward coming from me. I’ll do it in my own way.

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I am…

a father, a husband, a son, a brother, a cousin, a nephew, an uncle, a friend, a man, a Canadian, an Albertan, an Edmontonian

I am…

a teacher, a mentor, a writer, a blogger, a YouTube content creator, a tourist, an explorer, a worldbuilder, an artist, a thinker, a planner

I have…

a daughter, a wife, a mother, a father, a sister, a niece, many friends, many cousins, many aunts, many uncles, many students

I study…

science, life, writing, languages, the land, the sea, the sky, the mountains, the planets, the stars, the universe

I was…

an elementary school student, a junior high school student, a high school student, a university student, a classmate, a data entry operator, a call centre team leader, a tour guide

I am…

a walker, a hiker, a birdwatcher, a photographer, a nature lover, a lifelong learner, a book lover

I was…

a golfer, a skier, a hockey player, an ice skater

I love…

good food, summer, animals, plants, a starry sky, thunderstorms, science fiction, fantasy, art

I hate…

tomatoes, injustice, bullies, the cold, false accusations, bad drivers, arrogance, know nothing know-it-alls, the smug

I had…

a dog, a Sega Master System, an Apple II/e, an Atari 2600, a ladybug record player, a Superman cape

I will be…

published, an author, a father again, a grandfather, a world traveler, bilingual, trilingual, multilingual

I could have been…

a palaeontologist, an astronomer, a scientist, an architect, an artist, an athlete

I have…

hopes, dreams, desires, goals, regrets, fears, worries

I am a human. I am only one, but I have the power to affect many, even if it’s in only a small way. I respect others by default, but I will not respect them if they disrespect me. I am sympathetic and empathetic.

Small gestures can make my day. A hug from my daughter, a thank you from a friend, a kind comment from a reader.

When it comes down to it, I only need a few things. My family, my friends, a home, my writing, and the world.

I am Jay Dee

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Who are you? I can’t wait to see your responses. But please link back to Solveig’s original post if you write a response. Comments are always welcome.

Who Has Your Personality Type?

I found this infographic on the internet (obviously):

by visually.

What I find interesting is that it describes INTJ as a natural leader. So, basically, I’m a strategist. I guess I do a lot of careful planning in many ways. And I do like strategy games.  But it shows some famous people who have the same personality type as me.

First is Mark Zuckerberg. How interesting. The founder of Facebook is like me? Why didn’t I think of something like Facebook? I’d be rich.

Second is Jay-Z. Not Jay Dee.  Jay-Z.

Third is Arnold Schwarzenegger. Really? How come I don’t have muscles like him or a totally cool Austrian German accent?

Fourth is Karl Marx. Well, I’m not a Marxist, but I do think some parts of communism has its merits. Just don’t give us the dictators who think they’re communists.

Finally, we have Nikola Tesla. That guy was a genius!

So, how about you? If you don’t know your personality type, you can find it on this blog post. Who are your famous personality twins?

Teaching Introverts and Shy Students

When I was in school, I was not only an introvert, but also quite shy. I was the very quiet kid who didn’t like speaking in front of the class. Reading reports in front of my classmates was one of the worst things I could’ve been asked to do.

A lot of teachers say it’s a good thing to get kids to speak in front of class like that. Did it help me? Did it allow me to “come out of my shell” a bit? Not at all. Each time was terrifying and didn’t make things any better. That’s not to say it doesn’t help others, but in my case, I didn’t get over my shyness until I was in my 20s and had a job involving talking to strangers over the phone. My confidence developed because of that, and soon after, I was promoted to Team Leader, which is a supervisory role. I was then talking in front of groups of people doing project briefings. And now, I teach. I’m always in front of people talking to them. I don’t get nervous about it. I’m confident in my lessons. My shyness went away, but my introversion remains.

What’s the difference? Shyness is a personality trait that leads to social anxiety. There’s a fear of speaking to people, being the centre of attention, and a strong desire to just get away from everyone. Eye contact is difficult, using a louder voice is nearly impossible, and sweating is often profuse while having to speak to or meet new people. This is something that can be changed, but people shouldn’t be forced to change. That can cause an even stronger social anxiety.

Introverts have an actual physical difference in their brains than extroverts. The brains of many individuals have been examined, and it was determined that introverts have more than a personality difference, it’s physical. They’re likely born that way. Introverts gain energy by being alone. They spend energy while being in social situations. A party is tiring, but that doesn’t mean an introvert doesn’t enjoy parties. They may like them in moderation. I personally don’t like parties, unless it’s only good friends or people I like. I’d prefer not to be overstimulated by a lot of strangers coming to me for some small talk. Small talk is something introverts find tiring and pointless. We want to talk, but we want to talk about deep subjects, not shallow small talk. This reluctance to speak to strangers seems to appear like shyness, but it isn’t. And also, introverts tend to take their time to answer. That hesitation isn’t shyness, it’s just that the answers are being well thought out. Introverts like precise and effective communication. They want to get to the point, cut out the unnecessary details, but be very thorough about giving all of the important information. They are excellent communicators when they need to be, can be excellent leaders and decision-makers, and are great judges of character. One of my abilities is to adapt to different personality types. I find it remarkably easy to get along with just about everyone. Not everyone sees my true personality, but I learn about others’ personalities and adjust my outward “personality” accordingly. It’s like I’m a chameleon.

When teaching introverts and shy people, it can be a bit different. I understand both introverted and shy students. For adults, they tend to be more in control of their shyness and introverted tendencies.  Kids have a lot more trouble with it, though.

For shy kids, they don’t want to talk. They’re quiet, they notoriously difficult to get to say anything, and they rarely talk to their classmates. They often look down or look around at anything but other people. Patience is important for the teacher, but also finding a way to build the student’s confidence.  Confidence is the main issue with shy kids.

For introverted kids, they are not necessarily shy, but are also often quiet, especially in larger groups. Get an introvert in a small two or one student class, and they are more likely to talk rather than listen. There’s hesitation when they answer. This isn’t shyness. This isn’t nerves. This is just them formulating their answer in full before they answer. They’re perfectly capable of having fun with other kids, but they’re also likely to be more serious. Although, I have had introverted kids laughing a lot, while extroverted ones are incredibly serious, but very talkative.

I think in both cases, patience on the teacher’s part is important. For shy students, take time to get them to feel more confident. They’ll likely feel better as they get to know other students, but are likely to shy away from speaking in front of large groups. Introverts need time to answer, because they want to have a thoughtful and precise answer. Speaking in front of a large class may not be a problem in their case, but it is draining if they have to do very social activities.

In my case, being both an introvert and a shy student, I had the misfortune of being afraid to speak out in class. However, I felt more comfortable in small groups of about three or four people, and I would offer my thoughts, and often take a bit of a leadership role.

So, teachers, if you aren’t an introvert, and you don’t fully understand what it’s like to be an introvert, please try to understand that forcing them into an extrovert mould is likely to backfire. It’s not in their nature to behave like an extrovert. Speeches in front of class aren’t exactly helpful. Group work is better.

This post is in response to an article that appeared in the Huffington Post.

Teachers, introverts, and anyone else, what are your thoughts on this subject? Let me know in the comments below.

Introverted Does Not Mean Shy

A lot of people have this misconception that introversion means shy. They often say that introverted people need to come out of their shell and socialise with others at parties. Well, take a look at this video. It’s called Body Language for Introverts. You’ll notice that I have the top comment at the moment (if you go to the YouTube page for the video). I love how one person goes on a rant about how North Americans are all extroverts, and that’s what makes North America so great and powerful.  Too bad for him many major business leaders and actors are introverts.

The video gets off to a really bad start. It equates introversion to people who have social anxieties, always having trouble figuring out what to say, or a lack of confidence.  Wrong!

I was once a shy person. Being shy means the above three things. I am not shy now. I’m still introverted, though. What introversion means is that you gain energy by doing more solitary activities, while being in a social situation drains us of energy. We need more solitary time to recharge our batteries, basically.

Let’s look at these three points Vanessa Van Edwards brings up. First, we have social anxieties. Not really, no. That’s what a shy person has. I have no problem being at a social gathering with many people around me. I just prefer to talk to people I know. I’m not nervous at all.  If I’m sitting at the side being quiet, people immediately assume there’s a problem and ask me what’s wrong. Nothing’s wrong, I’m just observing. Think of it as information gathering. I’m also studying people’s behaviour, which is extremely useful when speaking to them. I use this information to adapt how I speak with them. Extroverts tend to speak to everyone the same way. Introverts learn to adapt to different people’s behaviour, and I feel we become better communicators in deep conversation.

Second, she says introverts have trouble figuring out what to say.  Well, that hesitation that introverts have at the beginning of a conversation is usually something called “thinking.” We’d rather start off saying something that’s not inane or unimportant. We’d rather not do small talk, you see.  It’s just talking about the same thing over and over again with different people. We’ve done that conversation, so let’s move on to an actual conversation, please. When we’re in a conversation that is actually about something of substance, we don’t shut up.  Really! Take this example. When doing small talk, people will often bring up the weather.  Last night, a typhoon passed by.  In regular small talk, they might say, “Be careful tonight. There’s a typhoon coming.” “Oh, it’ll be so windy and rainy. You be careful, too.” It’s not really communicating any information that’s useful. There’s nothing being said other than acknowledging that they know the same information.  But, put me into the equation, and I say, “Yes, it should be here around 6 pm this evening. The rain is supposed to be the heaviest around midnight, but not so bad. It actually won’t be a typhoon at that time. It’ll be a tropical depression.” That then goes into a rather detailed discussion on both sides about typhoons, hurricanes, tropical storms, etc. What would have normally been a rather meaningless exchange on something we already knew turned into an information exchange that was far more meaningful.  That is how introverts like to talk. And we do talk a lot.

The third point is that she says we’re not confident.  That is complete BS.  Shy people are not confident by definition. Introverts are quite confident, especially my personality type, INTJ. We’re known for being straightforward and often a bit too blunt in what we say. We’re honest, we say what we think, and we’re confident about it. We just say it in a way that has a lot of thought behind it, rather than blurting out something that we might regret.

So, people, don’t confuse introversion with shyness. They are not the same thing. Vanessa Van Edwards does not know what an introvert is.  Take this from a real introvert: we are not shy. Quiet, yes. Shy, not all of us.

Myers-Briggs Is not Absolute

When creating a character, using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test is a useful tool.  However, after my previous post, I got to thinking, thanks to a comment, that the MBTI personality test does not dictate absolutely how someone behaves. It’s more of a general guideline.

For example, when I did my test, I found I was an INTJ.  But I also mentioned in the post that my ratings for each aspect were between 25 and 75%.  My strongest was the T (thinking), as I am rather logical and analytical in my decision-making.  I rarely let emotion decide for me, but sometimes I do, usually related to food.  If it has bacon, my emotional side takes over and tells my usually dominant rational side to shut up and eat.  Bacon has incredible powers.  But back to the main topic, although I do love bacon.  My weakest category was the N (intuitive).  This doesn’t mean that my intuitive side is weak, it’s just that it’s more balanced with the S (sensing) trait.  What this means is that while I am good at planning, seeing the big picture, and able to predict outcomes, I am also getting some influence from the sensing side, which means I do see the details and focus on the present.  I get the best of both worlds in that case.

When the percentages are below, it’s far less certain about what behaviours you or your characters will do.  If it’s closer to 100%, they are strongly following that aspect, but anything under, and especially closer to 0%, it’s highly unlikely that they will firmly be the type you determined them to be.

So what I’m saying is that even if you have figured out your character’s personality type, you don’t have to rely on it to dictate your character’s behaviour.  You can fudge it a bit.  Or a lot.  It’s up to you.  Just don’t rely on the indicators, because humans are flexible.  I may seem unflappable, but tempt me with bacon (or chocolate ice cream), and I will let go of my 75% thinking brain and let that 25% feeling brain take over.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Character Creation

Last year, I posted about my personality type, analysing it in detail.  I am an INTJ type personality according to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.  What’s interesting is how incredibly popular that post is recently.  It’s the most popular post most days so far this year.  So, I thought I’d revisit the topic.  It’s given me an idea.

When creating characters for fiction, it’s important to know their personality.  The MBTI is a useful tool for that, and can help you keep your character’s personality consistent.  There are 16 personality types, each with their own quirks and behaviours.

Click to view the full sized image. It’s quite large. Source: Wikipedia user Jake Beech.

One thing I’m going to do is test each of my main characters and see what kind of personalities they have.  It’ll be interesting, but also useful.

What I also plan to do is write posts about each personality type, describing what kind of person they are, as well as mentioning any famous people who are that type.

Head on over to this page and you can take a simplified version of the test to check out your own personality type.  But also, think about how your main character thinks.  So, in addition to yourself, answer the questions as if you were your main character.  See what kind of personality he or she has.  I’d love to see everyone’s results. Share your and your character’s personality types in the comments below. This should be fun.