How to communicate as an introvert

- I am an introvert, and maybe you are too. In fact, studies show that somewhere between a third and a half of people are introverts, but the workplace is still disproportionately optimized for extroverts. After all, in almost all work environments the people who get rewarded are the ones who constantly speak up in meetings, who network all the time, and can't seem to get enough of socializing. That's great for them, but if that's not your nature, and it's certainly not mine, what can you do? You've probably tried faking it and forcing yourself to act like an extrovert. Don't do that anymore, it's miserable. Here's what to try instead and how to speak up in a way that feels true to you. First, understand that being an introvert isn't a pass to avoid speaking up. "Oh, I can't do that. I'm an introvert." That's just an excuse. But what you can do is start making a conscious effort to play to your strengths. A major area where this comes up at work is in meetings, where you often have to jostle to make a comment and fend off other people. But instead of doing that, here are a few ways you can make sure your voice gets heard. One possibility is, once you get your hands on an agenda for the meeting, to share your thoughts in written format beforehand. Now, that's not always relevant or appropriate, but if you have special expertise or want to go more in depth, you could circulate an email beforehand that gives people context and which allows you to make an impact in your own way. Another possibility is to enlist a trusted friend to help you out, and if they're also an introvert you could offer to do the same for them. It can be hard to push yourself into the fray and say, "I have a comment," but it often feels more natural to advocate on behalf of someone else, so your friend could jump in and say, "Sarah looks like she's been trying to say something. Sarah, what's your perspective?" Then you have the floor and it feels a lot more comfortable to speak. This may actually be easier with video meetings where you have the option of raising your hand icon to queue up to speak or ask a question, whereas in face-to-face meetings, people are more likely to just jump in, which can feel harder or like you have to be more aggressive. You can also create talking points for yourself beforehand so you know what you want to say. When you're on the spot it's common to freeze up, but if you've already created notes for yourself, you can glance at them as a fallback and be a lot more confident in speaking up. If you want to push your boundaries, which isn't a bad thing to do periodically, you could also challenge yourself. "In this meeting, I'm going to be the first one to speak up." That has the benefit of surprising your colleagues, who may have grown accustomed to having you not talk that much. It's always a good thing to keep them guessing and wondering, "What other talents does she possess?" If you do plan to jump in first, which is often easier because there's usually a little delay before anyone speaks up or raises their hand, it's a good idea to couple that with a previous suggestion of creating talking points beforehand, so you're ready in the moment and don't have to wonder, "What am I going to say?" Another complementary strategy is to do more pre-work, meaning if speaking up in meetings is challenging you can often accomplish the same thing perhaps even more effectively by having one-on-one meetups prior to the official meeting. If you're advocating for a certain course of action, a short pre-meeting allows you to set the context, see if your colleague is supportive, and make your case away from the fray. That puts you in a better position once the meeting actually happens to have them on your side and help advocate for your position. If you're an introvert, it's kind of like being left-handed. Society just isn't organized for our benefit, so you have to create some workarounds. But it's certainly not impossible. In fact, it's not even that hard to communicate effectively as an introvert if you deploy some or all of these strategies.