Being an introvert and how to get noticed ...The Standard podcast

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Meet public speaker, writer and professional introvert, Richard Etienne.

Richard’s made a career out of showing people that you don’t need to be the loudest person in the room to have the most impact.

He joins Nicola Barron from Evening Standard Masterclasses to discuss:

·        What is an introvert?

·        Is it harder for an introvert to succeed?

·        Tips for public speaking and presentations

·        Hybrid working: Advice for returning to the office

For more information on Masterclasses from the Evening Standard, and to book your place on Richard’s class ‘How to speak up and get noticed’ go to standard.co.uk/masterclasses.

For all listeners of this podcast you can book with a 20% discount using promo code ‘Standard’.

Hi, from London, this is The Standard podcast, and I'm Nicola Barron from Masterclasses from The Evening Standard, which is our brand new programme of classes with some of our city's leading experts.

On today's episode, we're meeting with Richard Etienne, public speaker, writer and professional introvert.

He's made a career out of showing people that you don't have to be the loudest person in the room to have the most impact.

So, Richard, welcome to the podcast.

So great to see you.

Thank you, Nicola, great to see you too.

So firstly, tell me about yourself. How did you get into this field of expertise?

So, I discovered my passion for understanding introversion through personal experience really.

I didn't realise I was an introvert myself per se.

Like when I was younger, especially in school, I just realised I was different.

I wasn't the child that wanted to go out and play after school.

I was not the one who raised his hand in classes, but I did well with my grades and stuff.

And moving into the workplace, again, I wasn't the person who went out for drinks on a Friday, and people thought I was a bit strange.

And it was only until I read a book by author Susan Cain called Quiet, which is quite well known now, that I realized I was part of this really great club called Introverts.

And so, yeah, I did a lot of research into finding out how introverts can thrive and excel in the workplace.

And realised there weren't actually many outlets there at all.

So I worked with the masterclass team at the time, wonderful people, and yeah.

I did my first masterclass, and it's been, what, six, seven years now.

I just really love to help introverts thrive in the workplace.

It's a wonderful feeling, because I know what it felt like for me as well.

Can you tell me what an introvert is exactly?

Like, personally speaking, I feel like I'm incredibly introverted in some areas, and then others, I'm quite extroverted.

Is there a sort of sliding scale of introversion?

Indeed, and I tried to make it as very simple as possible when I explained.

And it's how one gains or drains energy.

So for example, I give the analogy of, you know, an introvert wakes up with five gold coins of energy, and with every social interaction, they have to hand over a said coin.

So, by the end of the day, they are spent, and they need to recharge in their own chosen way, whether it's in solitude or with a good friend or a war dog.

And with an extrovert, they wake up with no gold coins, and every single interaction, they receive one.

So, by the end of the day, they're rich in energy.

It's that dopamine hit, isn't it?

So yeah, there is definitely a slide in scale.

Carl Jung, who coined the term, introvert, extrovert, once said that there's no such thing as a pure introvert or extrovert.

There is definitely a slide in scale.

There's that nice sweet spot in the middle called ambiversion, which quite a few people I speak to say that they are in.

So yeah, it's definitely a sliding scale of how one gains or drains energy.

Talking about introverts now, is it harder for an introvert to succeed?

Hmm, not necessarily.

However, I would say introverts face unique challenges in certain environments.

So success often depends on how well introverts are understood and get to leverage their strengths.

So for example, in many workplaces, the bias is towards extroverted behaviours, especially in meetings, networking, and being asked to do very impromptu things that are huge, like giving a presentation in front of the entire team or organization at times.

And these expectations can make success feel harder for introverts.

However, introverts have wonderful advantages that can lead to great successes.

So are there any examples of where introversion can be used to your advantage?

So as an introvert, are there any strengths or superpowers that I might have?

Yeah, certainly.

There are many superpowers an introvert has, especially in the workplace.

And one of them, for example, is thought leadership.

You know, as introverts, we choose to take it a touch longer to process information so we can give a very considered response.

I've read many wonderful opinion pieces, thought leadership pieces on whether it's social media or watched it on YouTube, for example.

And another one is listening skills.

You know, we're really good. We're really good, especially these one-to-one conversations.

So, you know, developmental conversations, coaching, mentoring, you know, that whole personal development kind of conversation as a line manager to your colleague.

Really, really strong there as introverts.

And finally, creativity.

Again, I wonder whether it is that choice to work in solitude sometimes that really favours creativity.

You know, just being able to kind of go into the zone, so to speak, and produce some of your best work.

So yeah, thought leadership, listening skills and creativity, for sure.

Great.

So yeah, thinking more closely about the workplace, you've touched on that.

What's your best advice for how, as an introvert, I might get my presence felt and not get overlooked by the more extroverted colleagues I might have?

Certainly.

So in previous masterclasses, a lot of questions that come up are around meetings because that is one environment where a lot of introverts, or just quieter, you know, employees feel overlooked or just not, yeah, they're not really giving a platform or a voice.

So what I would suggest is reaching out to the chair before a meeting to ask if you could be selected to raise a point on a particular topic, especially if the agenda has been provided beforehand because isn't there something just amazing about a chair just calling you out to actually provide a piece of advice based on a topic that you favour or is an expert on.

So that's a really good one.

I have that people feel that gives them added voice.

There's also the book ended technique.

So speaking up at the beginning of a meeting just to kind of get rid of the butterflies that can sometimes float around whether online or in person.

This could be something very simple, just introducing yourself or just doing that English thing, talking about the weather or asking people about their weekend.

It just helps to give presence, a sense of presence and also your voice is being heard.

So yeah, reaching out to meeting chairs and bookending a meeting with a voice at the beginning and preferably if you want one at the end.

And many of us, whether we're introverts or not, find speaking or presentations at work quite daunting.

What are your tips for making it easier?

So my tips for making daunting tasks easier for introverts would be to make them sit within your comfort zone.

Very often we hear people say, oh, you need to step out of your comfort zone.

I would prefer if we expanded our comfort zone.

And in order to do that, I would suggest making said tasks smaller at first.

So for example, public speaking, my goodness, do not believe I woke up out of bed one day and was like, yeah, let's go.

I started by recording videos.So now I'm talking to no one, just myself, but obviously then it gets published and sent to many people.

Then I would do online, where it's just this little green dots at the top of my laptop I'm looking at.

But you know what? I'm speaking to hundreds of people here.

And then I would go into a studio where it's just the production crew and maybe a couple of people just stood on the sides.

And then, you know, suddenly it develops, develops, develops to the point where now I can stand on stage in front of, you know, a thousand people.

And I'm, you know, obviously the nerves are there, it's natural, but I'm okay.

You know, I'm still within my comfort zone.

So yeah, start small, expand your comfort zone, and before you know it, you'll be at that place you want to be.

Let's go to the ads.

Coming up in part two, Richard's advice for introverts on hybrid working.

“And so in the end, what I did was wear very, very large headphones as a way to kind of say, hey, don't disturb me.”

Plus his tips for a stress-free social life.

What about hybrid working?

So, many introverts who are quite happy in their comfort zone, working at home, and maybe not quite used to going back to the office anymore.

Do you have any advice for how best to manage this?

Oh yeah, managing working in the office in a hybrid environment, yeah, for sure.

I do remember there was a time when I used to work in the office, this is actually pre-COVID, and I used to be next to the lifts, and that is the worst place as a leader of internal communications to sit, because I remember senior leaders would see me, they weren't there to see me, they were going somewhere else, but they would stop and be like, oh my gosh, Richard, I need you for a second, or did you manage to publish my article?

And so, in the end, what I did was wear very, very large headphones as a way to kind of say, hey, don't disturb me.

So that was one very small change that actually made such a big impact.

And another tip I would definitely suggest is finding quiet spaces for focused work.

A lot of organizations post pandemic have realised, do you know what?

Maybe we should create these quieter zones.

In my office in central London, they've recreated the phone booth, the red phone box as a place where people can go and just chill for a second and focus on their work there.

So that's really important.

But I think the most important thing of all is to communicate your needs to your team.

Let your team know what you require in order to have a more balanced work life in the office.

It's not all work, what about social situations?

What's your best advice for introverts or the more socially anxious amongst us?

Yeah, social events, they can be draining.

So I think it's important to plan accordingly.

I set time limits for events, for example.

It could mean sometimes taking a short break, not to, well, I say to recharge, but just kind of going away from the group sometimes.

I just go for a wander around somewhere.

And it's not about abandoning your crew.

It's not about trying to duck out, it's about saying goodbye.

It's just about understanding your needs and just approaching it accordingly.

So, focus on having meaningful conversations with a few people rather than trying to work the entire room.

I remember, this is kind of a crossover between work and social play, is I used to volunteer at events.

So, it meant that I was present, and I had purpose.

So, I knew what I had to do, and people would come to me rather than me having to go to people, which I used to find quite daunting.

But I also used to turn up early.

So, I would turn up early.

I would find an individual and we connect.

And that would be me.

I'm like, you know what, me and you were good here.

And then eventually kind of wander around afterwards.

So, there was so many different approaches, but definitely important to plan ahead and give yourself some time for some recharge.

It's a great tip.

Thanks, Richard.

I already feel more empowered from speaking to you.

So tell me what we can expect from your Evening Standard Masterclasses and when is it taking place?

Yeah, so the Evening Standard Masterclasses is taking place on Tuesday, the 16th of July, between 6.30 and 8.30 British summertime, PM.

And what I will do is delve into some of the topics that we've discussed today, providing practical strategies for introverts to really leverage their strengths in the workplace.

We'll cover all of those uncomfortable things like personal branding, networking, speaking up in meetings.

So this will be tips and techniques tailored for introverts.

For more information on Masterclasses from The Evening Standard, and to book your place on Richard's class, go to standard.co.uk/masterclasses.

And for all listeners, you can book with a 20% discount with a special promo code, Standard.

You can find full details in the show notes of this episode.

The Standard podcast will be back on Monday.

For all the latest news, head to standard.co.uk.