My introverted 7th grader got called out on a school Zoom meeting to give an answer to the question, “where do you see yourself in 5 years?” She was mortified and her story made me think about things that most introverts wish extroverts knew about them.

Ice breakers and activities with a “surprise” question with a time limit are an impossible situation. Panic sets in and the pressure of coming up with an answer results in self-judgement that results in no answers. It’s super stressful!

We need time to process and deliberate our thoughts before being vulnerable enough to put them out for others to hear and judge. And even if others don’t judge us, they are in our minds.

Also, we’re not quiet in meetings or other group settings because we have nothing to say. We just won’t fight for the spotlight or clamor to be the first to say something. Back to the whole deliberative thoughts point.

And finally, we need quiet time alone. Back-to-back Zoom meeting fatigue often has me looking forward to an hour break where I get to sink into my work by myself. I need and crave that time of quiet solitude to be the most effective version of me.