|
![](/i/fill.gif) |
On Thu, 10 Jul 2008 22:53:36 +0200, Gail Shaw wrote:
> "Jim Henderson" <nos### [at] nospam com> wrote in message
> news:48767560$1@news.povray.org...
>
>> Don't be worried. My point is *you'll get there*. But you also have
>> to make incremental changes. I'm a *totally* introverted person most
>> of the time, but I took a teaching job 6 years ago. Be willing to take
>> chances. If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. No big deal.
>> If it does work out, hey, that's great. That's how we learn and grow.
>>
>>
> I was totally introverted about 6 years ago. Terrified of speaking to
> strangers, wouldn't even contemplate any form of public speaking. I
> can't pinpoint a single event that changed it, or started a change, but
> now I'm preping to speak at the largest Tech conference in SA, and I'm
> looking forward to it.
That's something that I started doing back in about 1998 - speaking at
conferences. I've got a good friend from Ireland who also was an
instructor - he describes himself as an "extroverted introvert" when he's
teaching. It's actually a very common trait amongst technical
instructors, it seems. Surprisingly more common than one might expect.
I think for me the "turning point" started on board a cruise ship in the
Bahamas (with the group of Novell SysOps I was with - the group that's
similar to the Microsoft MVP group) drinking margaritas, and a couple of
the guys came over and were giving me grief about something; I turned and
said something to them that was *totally* unexpected (and apparently
quite forceful), and the world didn't end. None of us remember *what* I
said (I even asked one of them recently when he reappeared on the scene),
but the effect was pretty immediate.
I *always* have had problems speaking my mind. It's taken me many, many
years to get to the point where I'm comfortable expressing a dissenting
opinion. Now I do so regularly - and I've been having to train a "new"
boss (as of last November) on the idea that dissenting opinions aren't
bad, they're necessary. I believe she understands that, and I've
explained to my whole team that because I'm an "IT geek", I may sometimes
say things that can be taken offense to, but it's not intended that way.
Ever. Or rather, when it is, it'll be *really* obvious.
That said, I tend to be extremely cautious in how I word things to my
teammates. I've had a few comment that they've never seen me act rude
towards anyone - and one just the other day said she can't picture me
being mean or rude to *anyone*. I certainly can, I just reign it in,
especially when I'm talking to a group of non-geeks who don't understand
that I filter inbound rather than outbound. (The so-called "tact
filter").
> That said, if I;m at a party and don't know anyoen, I'll stand in the
> corner sip on a drink and stare at the ceiling.
Same here.
Post a reply to this message
|
![](/i/fill.gif) |