Being an introvert can suck sometimes.
When I started college, I was sufficiently introverted enough to abhor the thought of introducing myself to new people. I had to be in a pretty social mood to do it.
Today, I’ve become practiced enough at the art of introducing myself that it’s fairly easy… but now, carrying on a conversation after that initial introduction is the big challenge.
Point is, many of us are introverts – and we find it hard to introduce ourselves, network effectively, and (most importantly) make friends. But that doesn’t mean we don’t want to.
On today’s episode, I talk to a friend of mine with a lot of experience in this area. Tyler Tervooren is the founder of Riskology.co, and is also an introvert – though it may be hard to believe.
Over the years, he’s traveled to multiple countries, talked his way past bribe-seeking Russian soldiers, challenged himself to talk to dozens of random people, and helped to organize the World Domination Summit – an event that heavily challenge my natural introversion when I attended it last year.
In this episode, we discuss strategies for working through being an introvert, becoming more comfortable with meeting new people, and eventually making friends.
Things mentioned in this episode:
- Riskology.co
- Connect with Tyler on Twitter
- Watch Tyler’s excellent TEDx talk
- The Friends Game – an awesome system for managing relationships as an introvert
- How to Start and End a Conversation
Wondering where the Resources of the Week segment is? I’ve decided to use the 80/20 principle to enable myself to focus my attention completely on the things that matter, so I’ve trimmed it – but worry not, because you can find all sorts of great tools at my Resources page.
If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes! It’s easy, you’ll get new episodes automatically, and it also helps the show gain exposure 🙂 You can also leave a review!