Extroverts and Introverts Agree About Our Next Principle
Our next principle is “Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.” This principle fits right in with “Become genuinely interested in other people” and will hopefully reinforce some of the things we’ve been doing thus far in the Hearts and Minds Project.
It also is something that transcends the personality characteristic of extroversion/introversion. Extroverts and introverts, in equal proportion, dislike talking about ourselves! (And conversely, others like talking about themselves. I don’t think we have any people like that contributing to this project, however!)
In my opinion, talking about myself is among the dullest possible subjects. These days, when someone asks me an anodyne question like “What’s new?” my response is always, “Nothing much. How about with you?”
Perhaps that’s a sign I need to put more effort into daily chitchat, but my reply question is meant earnestly. “Please! Tell me something about yourself! Because if you don’t, this conversation is coming to an end.”
That’s not to say I don’t like sharing my opinion or offering my experience with a certain topic. But my “self talk” in conversations is a lot more like my writing on this blog: focused on general conclusions and judgements rather than sharing stories of things I did.
Thus this week, I get to follow HTWFAIP all while expressing my preference in conversations anyway: Please, do tell me more about yourself! I promise to pepper you with followup questions until you get sick of talking about yourself too.
