MBTI Discussion
Basiel Bogaerts
Sachiko Phuong
out isn't only for introverts - it's really for anyone who wishes to
be more successful at networking. The one thing that makes you
memorable during networking events is if you are able to make personal
connections with people. If you are an extrovert, this will be
relatively easy. To make this a little easier for introverts, I would
suggest researching the people who will be at the event. Look them up
on LinkedIn, company profiles, or Google and find out more about the
person's job, organization, or even hobbies. These topics are easy
conversation starters. For example, I found out that an alumnus I was
going to have lunch with was into genealogy. I did a quick search on
what genealogy was and during lunch, I simply asked, "How did you get
into genealogy?" This started an hour-long conversation about our
family histories. You could also ask them about their work, what made
them go into that field, how long they've worked there, and why they
stayed.
Another piece of advice I can give is to talk to the other people who
are also shy and standing on the edges of crowds. You are not the
only one who is introverted and once you get the conversations
flowing, you'll gain more confidence.
Of course, there are more strategies and techniques out there. The
key elements to being successful at networking is gaining experience,
keeping an open mind, and staying positive. Everyone has a story to
tell - just go and ask them.
Andrew Petersen
Everyone can Network
Networking is rapidly becoming more and more important in today’s business world. However, there are some common misconceptions about how effective networking is only for a few social butterflies.
Whether you are usually the one talking, or would rather hang back and listen, there are several ways to network that can be more effective to fit your personality type. With extroverts, making conversation with unfamiliar people comes naturally; so let us focus more on strategies for the introverted individuals. Introverts may not like the idea of trying to talk to everyone in the room, but they don’t have to. With these kinds of people, the quality of the conversation is much more important than the quantity. Introverts tend to make longer and more meaningful relationships which they can greatly leverage to open up future opportunities.
Introverts also tend to be more comfortable in structured environments where interacting doesn’t rely on being able to “small talk” and is more aimed at genuine conversation. With this in mind, introverts should make a conscious effort to attend events that are more tailored towards structured communication. Informational interviews, events with purpose (and set agendas), and forums are all good examples of where introverts can flourish. Outside of the more formal social occasions, introverts have some other options as well such as: volunteering at a networking event (to provide some structure), bringing a friend along, and sticking to what you know (which will help you provide valuable information to others that may come back for your help later on).
Hope this helps,
Andrew J. Petersen
stephanie lee
Chelsey Miller
I agree that networking in the DC community will relate to our overall experience and success this semester. Start building your network now.
Networking strategies between extroverts and introverts differ. It will be easier and more natural for extroverts to network than introverts. But even if you are fairly introverted, I think you can still capture some of the best parts of being an extrovert like being comfortable with groups of people, meeting people easily, and having conversations without wondering what to say. Knowing how to network if you're an introvert requires you to be aware of your natural strengths that contribute to effective networking.
In order to become more comfortable networking and meeting new people you have to embrace and practice spending time with other people. One reason introverts shy away from social activities is that they don’t feel comfortable because they don’t know what to do, especially if the unexpected were to occur. Being able to start up a conversation with a stranger and feel completely comfortable doing it is a learnable skill. The more you do it, the better you get at it. Also, prepare for interactions with a list of questions that you can ask anyone.
Online socializing for networking such as Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedln is a good start but face-to-face communication can communicate a lot more than text. You don’t have to do away with online socializing, but don’t allow it to crowd out meeting people locally. If you do that, you’ll only cause your interpersonal skills to lag further behind.
-Chelsey
Melissa Waldron
This is a great opportunity for all of us to start networking and building our contacts. Of course some people, such as extroverts, may find networking easier to navigate than others, the introverts. But nothing is impossible and networking isn’t as hard as it sounds. Introverts should plan ahead and research an event to attend that they feel would best suit their way of initiating a conversation, such as a “structured environment” as Andrew Petersen mentioned. If an introvert isn’t comfortable jumping into a conversation between a group of people, they can try engaging in small talk with another introvert who may be standing off to the sidelines. Another way to prepare would be to research who and what kind of people will be attending such an event. Introverts should also practice what to say during a conversation and remember to be confident about it. Introvert or extrovert and with or without practice, anyone can network. You just need to figure out what works best for you.
Yuanyuan Lin
me, networking is like a subject that I have to study to be
successful. After researches, I figure out some advices for people
like me.
1. Always be prepared before networking events. I cannot just apporach
a person and keep talking for 10 minutes, so it is important for me
together information beforehand. Before I arrive the place, I need to
know the information about today's topic and particpants. I also need
to make clear the purpose of attending this event and plan
accordingly. If I just want to practice my speaking, I can just find
anyone who is available right now and try to listen to their
experience and keep the dialogue going. If I have a specific purpose,
then I should find and wait for the chance to speak to the right
person.
2. Be brave. It is always hard to begin a dialogue. Sometimes I saw
people just wandering around, but I just do not dare to talk to them.
In fact, even if you join in a hot conversation and do not get the
chance to speak, you still learn from others' words. If their
questions are excellent, you can use them to ask next person. You can
also see how them join and withdraw from this conversation.
3. Practice. Practice makes knowledge experience. We learn how to
network from the book, but until we practice them, they are just
knowledge, not experience.
For extraverts, they can easily talk to any one without any
preparation. However, a good preparation will help them digest
information more quickly and ask more useful questions during the
conversation.
Xiao Mo Xu
community. As an introvert, I found sometimes it is difficult to talk
to strangers since I don't know how to start or join the conversation.
It would be much more easier for extroverts to socialize with people
and easily join the conversation. I'd like to keep my introverted side
because I enjoy spending time on doing something by myself;
concurrently, I desire to become more extroverted to learn how to
communicate with strangers and improve my networking skills. In this
case, I feel like doing the following thing would help me to be more
comfortable when socializing: Doing research in advance. Before
attending some specific workshops, I tried to find a list of firms
which would participate in these activities and started to search the
background and the latest press released. By doing so, it would help
me have a bird's eye view of those companies and find something I am
interested in which could become a beginning of conversations. I
found this is a really helpful and effective way for a introvert to
learn how to socialize. Though at the beginning I still felt
uncomfortable, then soon I got used to it and began to enjoy the
conversations.
Craig Mietz
For your second question, the biggest way the techniques will differ is whether or not the intern relies heavily on one person to get out their contact information or if they will take initiative and get to know people. It's easy for extraverts to get their voice out there and be social to others, that doesn't necessarily mean they will get the best contacts from networking.
Papa Mbengue
For the first question you have posed, introverts will definitely have a much harder time networking in this extraverted culture that we live in. A couple ways that introverts can successfully network down here in Washington is mostly use their
To respond to your question, I will say that nowadays it is necessary to be able to adapt yourself to many different organizational environments if you want to be a successful professional. Beyond the characteristics of extravert or introvert, the professional must be polyvalent by excellence. For example, at some point of our life, many of us did not speak English, but we have to learn and be fluent in it, because English has become a necessary tool for an economy of globalization. The professional qualities of being able to multi-task, to be flexible, and to be a reliable team player are important requirements in today’s business environment.
To summarize, my advice is to be flexible and to learn how to adapt.
Yukiko Wakabayashi
I used to prefer to be alone than to be with a group because I felt
uncomfortable to be with my classmates owing to a conflict with them.
Then, I got to avoid being with any group. However, I comparatively
recently have found that being with compatible people is much more fun
than being by myself. Also, being and talking with them helped me to
get out of being an introvert little by little. As someone mentioned,
talking became practice for me to get used to talking with strangers,
even though I often cast a chill over the conversation. One thing I
thought is doing what you like or talking with people you like help
you to forget that you are an introvert. Without thinking about what
to say, many questions and many comments will come up to your mind.
When I feel awkward, my consciousness is heading to myself, such as
what to say and fear toward others. Having more interests in others
will keep your conversation longer by asking a lot of questions.
However, you also have to tell about yourself. Opening your mind might
give a topic to talk with the others. Also, it will helps the other to
open his/her mind. It is interesting to know how differ and how the
same people are. Giving each others' information will have us compare
with each other naturally.
To sum it up, finding interest, broadening out it, and enlarging
curiosity will make introverts' communication more smooth one. Also,
trying to open mind, even if it's a little bit, might open the others'
minds. If introverts, including myself, want to make any change on
themselves, they have to have some bravery to open their minds first
and keep going. Just waiting for being asked by someone heavily
depends on others. It does not make any change. They might fail to
communicate with people sometimes, but each time will be practice and
makes them getting better. Even though they failed once, trying again
and again will help them to improve.
I don't know if this answers the first question, but thank you for
your reading.
Yukiko Wakabayashi