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I am the rare extrovert tech writer, although at my core, I am a terribly
shy person. When I was a child, speaking to people I didn't know was a
nightmare. Just terrible. Extroverts can be very shy people but after you
know us, you can't shut us up. No really, shutting me up is a trick!
But I developed all sorts of skills and tricks, like the one below, to deal
with being shy. I adore public speaking and find that consistent with being
shy. When I speak publicly, I know my topic and I am the center of attention
and can make people laugh. I LOVE those feelings. Hence, the extrovert.
But to talk to people I don't know at a social event or meeting or
something? Still terribly hard. I don't know what to say. I fumble and
stumble and look like a dork. Hate that feeling.
sharon
Sharon Burton
CEO, Anthrobytes Consulting
951-369-8590
www.anthrobytes.com
President of IESTC
-----Original Message-----
From: bounce-techwr-l-189020 -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:bounce-techwr-l-189020 -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com]On Behalf Of Dick
Margulis
Sent: Wednesday, December 22, 2004 3:04 PM
To: TECHWR-L
Cc: TECHWR-L
Subject: Re: Seeking counsel - yet another difficult work situation
(very long!)
David,
I'm sure you've heard of the trick to overcome the fear of public
speaking that you should imagine your audience sitting there naked.
In the case of SMEs, I suggest a different exercise. Imagine the
individual SME to be someone so much shyer than you are that he can only
bring himself to mumble when you speak to him and that he averts his
eyes when you approach in the corridor. He just can't believe that
someone as important as YOU could possibly have any reason to want to
talk to little old him.
Try it. You'll find yourself much less intimidated when you walk down
the corridor and people avert their eyes rather than greeting you.
Pretty soon, you'll find yourself saying "good morning" to them when you
pass. Eventually, they'll say "good morning" back to you.
In my experience a lot of SMEs are every bit as shy as I am at their
core. The successful ones mask it; and to be successful, you'll mask it,
too.
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