I’m endlessly amazed at how many of my clients and continuing education students share that they feel like impostors. No matter how many degrees and awards they’ve earned, what level they’ve reached in society’s pecking order, and how “together” they appear, right beneath their perfectly-pressed Prada exteriors, many don’t believe they’re as big a deal as you might think. It’s as if their greatest wins are accidents or they just get lucky each time they get a raise, a promotion, a new client, or an honor. To quote a fellow Psychology Today blogger, Lisa Rivero, who recently wrote about impostor syndrome, “One thing is certain: More success and more awards do not always bring the self-assuredness we seek.” Can you relate? (more…)

When fellow Psychology Today introvert blogger Sophia Dembling and I recently chatted by phone, we discovered that we both like communicating in sound bites—an efficient use of our introverts’ energy. So I interviewed Dembling, author most recently of The Introvert’s Way: Living a Quiet Life in a Noisy World, on Twitter. In case you missed it, I’ve excerpted our exchange below about fun, flâneurs, phones, and feeling good for introverts, even if life around you is, in Dembling’s words, “a Mountain Dew commercial.” (In case you don’t use Twitter, the @ symbol before our names is just the way our handles appear on that platform.) (more…)

I was recently interviewed for an article titled “Conquer Your Networking Fears,” for the Project Management Institute. Here’s how it begins:  “Have you ever found yourself standing alone at a networking event, watching other project professionals mixing and mingling? You know you should introduce yourself and find new connections — but you just can’t muster the courage.” Can you relate? If you’re an introvert, take your time and enjoy the connections—one at a time and at your own pace. (more…)

I recently had several phone conversations with high-powered leaders—all of whom sounded like high-powered leaders. It wasn’t just what they said (not a word wasted), but also how they said it. Not a frog in their collective throats. Rather than hemming and hawing, umming and erring, each of these leaders, from diverse industries and disciplines, spoke in a strong, confident voice. (more…)

It can increase your attention span, sharpen your brain, and improve your performance at just about anything. It’s also free. Still not sure about meditation? The latest research credits it with “measurable changes in gray-matter density in parts of the brain associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress,” according to a recent chart-topping article in the New York Times. What’s the rage about meditation and how can the benefits of this age-old practice include bolstering your professional profile? (more…)

“Writing seems a perfect career for introverts, since it entails many hours alone in a quiet room,” according to Sophia Dembling in “Writing the Book is the Easy Part for Introverts,” on her Psychology Today blog. “But once your book is published,” she contends, “the real work starts: Getting people to buy it.”
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“I will probably never learn to love networking events, and they will likely drain my energy,” says Katharine Brooks, Ed.D., Psychology Today blogger and author of You Majored in What? “But I have also learned that when you make even just one great connection the event becomes much more enjoyable and worth attending,” she adds. Check out her story, “Networking 101 for Introverts,” for five practical networking tips. If you’re ever stumped about what to say when the spotlight turns to you, see my recent story, “How Do You Talk About Yourself?”

“Introverts, those quiet creatures that walk among you, are not as mild-mannered as made out to be,” says Matthew Hutson in his story, “What Not to Say to an Introvert,” in the October issue of Psychology Today. He adds in this companion piece to the cover story, “They seethe and even will lash out at those who encroach upon or malign their personal comfort zones.” Lest introverts seem like a bunch of poisonous spiders, Hutson makes some good points about our healthy preferences, which don’t often get recognized. Here are a few more no-no’s you can share to enlighten the extroverts* in your life.
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“Perceptual biases lead us all to overestimate the number of extraverts among us (they are noisy and hog the spotlight),” according to Laurie Helgoe, Ph.D., in her cover story, titled “Revenge of the Introverts,” in the October issue of Psychology Today. By now, you probably know that introverts actually make up half the population.
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I frequently encounter highly accomplished people who don’t think of themselves that way. In fact, many clients of mine and participants in my Self-Promotion for Introverts® workshops spend more time thinking of their latest misstep—despite their robust résumés. Can you relate?
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