How To Be A Grumpy Introvert (3 Lessons On Networking)

One would think that a tried and true introvert wouldn’t want to move out of their comfort zone to pursue careers, romance, social scenes or anything else that isn’t in their own comfortable little bubble. Introverts are weird, silent, misunderstood little people and I count myself among their ranks. How do we get along when we place ourselves in new cities and towns where we don’t know anyone?

• Know Your Audience (And Yourself) – Introverts like to spend more time along than most people because it’s when we recharge and are able to do a lot of the indexing of events and interactions that we experience on a day to day basis. But, introverts get bored just like anyone else and need to get out to mix things up now and again. You need to be particular with your time and the places that you spend it when you move somewhere new. If you’re trying to find a new job, develop your business or built out your interests, figure out where people congregate for those reasons.
• Compete With Yourself  (Not Others) – At social events, people tend to talk in circles and generate pissing contests over who’s done what, where you went to school, who you know, etc… Not only do these people look totally stupid to most introverts, we enviously realize that we probably don’t have the energy or resources to compete with braggarts in a public setting. Instead, if you over hear someone talking about something that you’d like to know more about, wait until the crowd talkers have blown off all their steam and then grab whomever you want to talk to when they’re walking away from that conversation and then do your best to really connect with them one-on-one (that’s when you’re at your best in all likelihood).
• The Interwebs Are Your Friends – I get reactions to my social networking strategies that involve online social networks from a lot of people that resemble “that’s really weird. Seriously, don’t you think it’s creepy to find people and try to meet up with them for a job or something through the Internet?” My response is usually, “No.” Despite there being tons of noise and morons on the Internet declaring themselves internet social media guru addict experts, or whatever, if you’ve got half a brain for strategy, doing a little search engine research and utilizing whatever social networks you have (LinkedIn, Facebook, Brazen Careerist, Twitter), you can see who lives in a place that you’re moving to and is active in the social and professional scenes you’re interested in. By reaching out, after you’ve done some research, and offering up your services and asking for 20 minutes of time in exchange for a cup of coffee, you’re way more likely to be considered a g0-getter rather than a internet stalking creeper.

It’s absolutely shocking, even from my perspective as an introvert, how bad so many people are at networking and presenting themselves to decision makers and thought leaders in their field. The nervousness associated with worrying about how you’ll be perceived as over-aggressive or weird is completely relative and frankly pointless when you consider that if you use all of the revolutionary communication tools to get a message to the people you want to talk to, then you can bypass all of the anxiety inducing, competitive pectoral flexing that goes on at old-boy networking events and socialite cocktail parties.

Go fourth and bother influential business professionals you shy, awkward, but awesome introverts!