Even as an introvert, you can't beat meeting with clients and collaborators face to face. It took me years to work out how to actually enjoy them. Here's how.
I just landed back from a week of client meetings - some hiking up the Peak, others over coffee, a few in actual conference rooms. Every single one was a pleasure.
There was a time when I would have found this exhausting rather than energising. It took me years to learn to work with the strengths my introversion brings, rather than against them.
But you can't just wing it. You need to work with your introvert strengths, not against them.
This is what works for me:
ā Ask questions and actually listen to the answers. While everyone else is planning what to say next, you're catching the details that actually matter (and taking the focus off you).
ā Know when and where you perform best. I book my biggest conversations for mornings and pick settings that didn't drain my energy before we even started.
ā Find people who compliment your introversion with their extroversion - building teams who are best suited to different types of work can 10X your collective impact.
ā Schedule recovery time between meetings. Non-negotiable. Your brain needs space to process and reset.
This is nothing like my old corporate life where I'd do 11 hours of back-to-back meetings and wonder why I felt fried.
That approach doesn't work for introverts. It doesn't work for anyone, really.
The best client breakthroughs I've had weren't because I talked the most. They happened because I created space for people to think out loud and actually heard what they were telling me.
Stop trying to be someone else. Your natural strengths are exactly what people need.
I'll be back in HK in 4 weeks' time if anyone's up for the 7am hike the peak slots they open soon š
I just landed back from a week of client meetings - some hiking up the Peak, others over coffee, a few in actual conference rooms. Every single one was a pleasure.
There was a time when I would have found this exhausting rather than energising. It took me years to learn to work with the strengths my introversion brings, rather than against them.
But you can't just wing it. You need to work with your introvert strengths, not against them.
This is what works for me:
ā Ask questions and actually listen to the answers. While everyone else is planning what to say next, you're catching the details that actually matter (and taking the focus off you).
ā Know when and where you perform best. I book my biggest conversations for mornings and pick settings that didn't drain my energy before we even started.
ā Find people who compliment your introversion with their extroversion - building teams who are best suited to different types of work can 10X your collective impact.
ā Schedule recovery time between meetings. Non-negotiable. Your brain needs space to process and reset.
This is nothing like my old corporate life where I'd do 11 hours of back-to-back meetings and wonder why I felt fried.
That approach doesn't work for introverts. It doesn't work for anyone, really.
The best client breakthroughs I've had weren't because I talked the most. They happened because I created space for people to think out loud and actually heard what they were telling me.
Stop trying to be someone else. Your natural strengths are exactly what people need.
I'll be back in HK in 4 weeks' time if anyone's up for the 7am hike the peak slots they open soon š
