Krapsakas

The second week of October is the Entrepreneurship Week in Tartu (Estonia), during which I also attended a lecture such as “How to organize meetings so that introverts can speak up”, led by Martin Mark.

He is also the founder and leader of the Estonian Introvert Academy.

Oh-my-lord!
How seen I felt! I know that I am a strong ambivert, but at the same time, some things have caused me confusion.

For example, why can I talk endlessly about topics that interest me, yet I am not afraid of presentations, but at the same time, I can be afraid of giving presentations. Doesn’t sound logical?
How on the one hand I am not worried when I have to lead online meetings and next moment I almost hate daily 15-minute team meetings.

Eemm, pardon lady, but you are also an introvert in addition to an extrovert. What did you think :D?

So what did I find out?

I hope Martin doesn’t mind me sharing his thoughts 🤞. I’m supporting his mission to raise awareness about introverts’ introspection.
I won’t talk about the whole presentation, just briefly the main things that I remembered the most, or that helped me understand myself better.

Introverts need advanced knowledge of what will happen in a meeting

/ Communicate clear expectations to meeting attendees.
/ Send out the meeting agenda and other necessary materials.
/ Set a meeting duration and let everyone know AND stick to it.
/ Give the introvert time and opportunity to write down thoughts and ideas before the meeting.

Introverts need time to think about questions and ideas. They need the security of knowing what to expect before going to/participating in events.
If they don’t have that, then there’s no point in expecting them to really engage with you in a meeting.
Because they simply need more time to digest and formulate their thoughts and ideas.

That’s why some meetings and online meetings, even presentations, are not a problem for me. I can be both a leader and an active participant in the event. Because I know what they are about – I have agreed on the goals with the other party or parties. Or I have created an outline of what I will present.
But if I don’t know what to expect, I don’t know what the goal or goals of the meeting are, if I don’t know what and why I am presenting.
Even worse, if I have to present something on the spur of the moment and I don’t have any presentation outline prepared. Let’s just say that in moments like these, I want to take my two lovely legs and run as fast as I can 🏃🏼‍♀️‍➡️.

Give the introvert recognition in front of others

Does this really resonate with me, well, so and so.
But I’m bringing it up here because it’s such an important thing in my eyes!
Martin also pointed out in the lecture that introverts are by nature more likely to think a little less well of themselves than extroverts. So acknowledging an introvert in front of others is worth its weight in gold.

And let’s say that someone who is by nature rather quiet, with their attitude, might at first be like, “Ah, please don’t! I don’t want this attention!”.
But in reality, every person needs recognition and praise. And receiving this praise in front of others has a much greater impact compared to being told it in a one-on-one conversation.

So acknowledge and praise your introverted colleagues and friends! ☺️

Introverts and extroverts don’t need to be changed. They need to be understood.

This was an idea that I really liked.
We are all different, absolutely every single person on this planet. You may have a twin sister or brother, but you are still different.
We don’t have to change anyone, but we do have to understand!

It’s easy to judge, it’s easy to complain and whine. But taking the time to understand and see the other person – it may take a little longer at first, but through this result, cooperation can begin to be born!
And through cooperation, we can make the world a more pleasant and better place.

In summary

I ran into Martin later after his presentation. I stayed in the presentation building longer because there was another lecture in the evening that I attended.

We stayed to talk. I thanked him for the very good lecture.
And at this point, I really recommend inviting Martin to give a lecture on introverts at your company (I understood from his story that he also holds online meetings). I saw that he also deals with habits?
He wasn’t just a good speaker, he could make a room full of people think and reason with him. And that’s something that not every person can do. Because most of the people in that room were introverts, as it turned out :D.
You can check it out for yourself on his website.

Anyway!
What else did I want to say with that – as I mentioned above, I have no problem selling – in stores, at markets. Especially at Christmas markets! I love them! I have repeatedly received compliments from other sellers about how I do it so well?
And then there’s networking..
That was also one of the things that came up in the introvert lecture – introverts hate small talk. And well, I couldn’t agree more!
I could have long conversations all day, but networking? So, where exactly was the exit? 👀

I also happened to talk about Krapsakas and showed him my website..
Look, there are many types of people. Those who talk about their activities with confidence, those who can’t say a word, and then there are those who, when they’re nervous, talk about the dead to the living. Yep! You already understood which version I was in that conversation – oops! 🫢😄
As I see, the last few years of suppressing myself have done their job and now I have to relearn that people are actually not so horrible and scary and they won’t eat you alive when you talk about your activities and your company 😄.
Anyway, this poor human soul listened to me so calmly and let me talk (read- blurt out words) about my company and seemed curious too. My respect to him!

I plan to attend several more lectures at the Tartu Entrepreneurship Week this week. And I’m also trying to get rid of my fear of talking about my own business. The best thing to do is to keep talking about it 😄☺️.
It’s actually funny that Krapsakas has quite a few readers worldwide today, I talk about things so openly, but when someone sees me face to face and THEN I have to talk about my own things – it’s good that the words come out of my mouth or I blurt them all out at once because I’m so nervous :D.
Anyway, if by some miracle you happen to see me somewhere during Tartu Entrepreneurship Week this week, come say hi :D. I’ll try not to blurt out words and be friendly 😄☺️.
PS! You’ll probably see me in Krapsakas’s new T-shirts, which should be on sale online soon. If a girl can find time to put them up next to her day job 🙄. But that day will come! 😀

PS! If you got the impression from the post that this topic excites me, then you understood it correctly.
I’m really fascinated by the whole topic of self-expression right now. Because, well, I’ve been struggling with it. Especially struggling in the last 1-2 months.
And then someone comes and says: “Hey! We want to be incredibly unique, but most people are more similar than they might think. And did you know that communication, presentations, networking etc. can be rehearsed to make them come out better?”.
Well, then, it’s a very seen-and-heard feeling, as I said at the beginning of the post.

And when someone talks about a topic with such warmth and passion, of course I share this information! Because I saw while I was in the room that not only I was thrilled by this presentation, but also many other listeners.
And as always – presentations, initiatives, entrepreneurship, etc. work well when it has started from the leader’s own trials, shortcomings or pain. And that’s what stood out and made the whole presentation and listening to it enjoyable – it wasn’t just empty talk, but the person himself is also an introvert and has faced similar concerns.

Have you recognized yourself in any of the points off the introverts?
Have you seen these qualities in your friends or colleagues?
Let me know in the comments!

With love,
Krapsakas Agnes