INTROVERSION/EXTROVERSION
Party Aids for Introverts
How to make social gatherings more interesting
Like many, I’m an introvert. That doesn’t mean I’m anti-social. It simply means that socializing takes some effort on my part. After engaging with others, I need some downtime to recharge my psychic batteries.
Jonathan Rauch, in his essay entitled “Caring for Your Introvert”, describes in detail the workings of the introverted mind and even formulates the required length of his post-party recuperation. As Mr. Rauch states, he needs “…roughly two hours alone for every hour of socializing.”
In short, extroverts are energized by their interactions with others and find it difficult to be alone. Introverts, in contrast, are somewhat enervated by socializing and afterwards need to be alone and apart from any energy-sapping extroverts.
Mr. Rauch does a great job describing the introvert’s nature and what extroverts can do to recognize, protect, and support it. His essay should help sensitize extroverts to the introverted personality and, when necessary, let them be.
As Mr. Rauch says, introverts “…tend to think before talking, whereas extroverts tend to think by talking.” This explains the extroverted world’s fondness for small talk and their need for lengthy…
