How to deal with introverts and extraverts based on Jennifer Selby's talk at Mozilla
Pontifications
[UPDATE: Here’s a link to Jennifer Selby-Long’s Video: Working Across Personality Types: The Introvert-Extrovert Survival Guide, with Jennifer Selby-Long]
My not so great notes but some great food for thought and steps that we can all apply and of course note that it’s not a binary world we live in more grey than black or white :-) Everybody is both introverted and extraverted at times!
if you prefer introversion, here’s how to deal with extraverts:
- communicate voice to voice (hard with timezones)
- listen very closely to the last sentence!
- signal that you’re engaged in the conversation
- let the pace of conversation be quick if appropriate
- if you need to process SAY SO :-)
virtual meetings HOW TO
- post as much as you can in advance
- pause
- ask specific team members for their perspectives
- actively solicit ideas that bubble up after meeting
- split more complex decisions into 2+ meetings
- plan for setbacks as you improve team dynamics
if you prefer extraversion, here’s how to deal with introverts
- communicate first in writing whenever possible even if it’s just on slack 10 minutes before
- listen very closely to the first sentence
- wait during their pauses - don’t fill in the quiet space with more words [roland] - omg this is so difficult for me!
- ask how long people would love to think about a decision or a topic
- circle back after conversations to learn their thoughts (10 minutes up to 2 days)