CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – NOVEMBER 30, 2021 -2
Introverts: Working From Home Works
Here are 3 ways introverts working from home can excel:
Stay connected. Now that you and your colleagues are no longer working in a shared space, you have to establish strong connections in other ways. Working from home means you put an effort into making sure you all know where you are on a project or task.
It’s a good idea to come up with a plan to communicate with your boss, manager, or others on your team daily, even if it’s just to check in or give an update on your progress. It could be as simple as a phone call or an email. Whatever method you choose, be consistent. Don’t call only when there are problems; set up a time regularly to ask or invite questions.
By setting up these connection points, you’ll build trust among your colleagues and your boss. The communication will also go a long way to eliminate mistakes and misunderstandings because you’re staying connected and setting a system in which questions can be asked in a timely manner.
Take Initiative. As impressive as technology is, there are still a lot of challenges associated with working remotely. One of the biggest is communicating effectively.
Here’s an opportunity for you to find ways for your team to communicate better. Or you could suggest virtual processes that can help the business operate more efficiently while everyone is separated.
As an introvert, you may not always be recognized as a leader, and that’s a shame. A research study conducted by Harvard Business Review actually showed that introverts in business are more effective leaders in complex and unpredictable settings. Has there been a more complex or unpredictable setting than Covid-19 in 2020?
Furthermore, the brain of an introverted person is wired to value productivity over recognition, which means you’re motivated by productivity rather than ambition. That’s beneficial to businesses struggling through the pandemic.
Be comfortable on camera. It’s not necessarily true that all introverts dislike public speaking. I’d wager the number of introverts who dislike talking on camera matches the number of all people who prefer not to do it.
However, video conferencing is now a commonplace substitute for in-person meetings, so if you’re an introvert working from home, you might as well learn how to do it well.
Not only that, but video marketing continues to grow by leaps and bounds. As a business owner who’s looking to expand or diversify your marketing, you have to get comfortable with being on camera.
Here’s what we recommend to get you started: Go through your message several times out loud until you’re comfortable with what you want to say. Then turn on the camera and do a practice run delivering your presentation. Do this before your actual presentation so you can play it back and see for yourself what you look and sound like.
For many people, the thought of being on camera is worrisome because they’re concerned with how they look—just like in a live presentation.
By recording yourself first, you can see exactly what your audience sees and—hopefully—you’ll realize your on-camera performance isn’t as bad as you think.
Every chance you have to talk to the camera will help alleviate the anxiety around doing it. And when the time comes to really deliver your presentation, you won’t feel so nervous.
In Business, Being an Introvert is Good
If you’re an introvert, working remotely has probably been a welcome change from reporting to an office every day, where the setting doesn’t match your personality.
Here’s your chance to demonstrate all the ways being introverted can serve your business and benefit its productivity. Until now, it may not have been obvious to the people you work with.
Introvert or not, we’re all social creatures who need human interaction to survive. Introverts just don’t need to interact with so many other people at once to boost their energy levels.
By putting a greater emphasis on one-to-one connections to brainstorm or have ad hoc discussions, you eliminate the noise that goes along with bigger group meetings that sometimes aren’t very productive. And that’s always good for business.
