Yesterday in a workshop on communications skills an introverted/people oriented person practiced trying to pitch a good idea to an extraverted/task-oriented person. The first couple of times he started with lots of lead-in words such as “How are you doing? For some time now I have been wanting to speak to you about something but haven’t had the chance…” etc. As I was playing the extraverted/task-oriented CEO I could acutely feel that the lead-in words were not spoken for my benefit. In fact I could even feel myself in that role being impatient and wanting the person to get to the point, it felt a little like wading through someone’s words to get to dry land.
When I made him do it a third time he nailed it. “I have a great idea…” were his opening words, his eyes sparkled. He was amazed himself at how much stronger he felt and he certainly looked tougher.
Continue reading The secret is Self-orientation