Introverts can work in communications

This comes up so frequently in my life - people questioning my choice to work in communications because I happen to be an introvert. I can't tell you how many times I've been laughed at and teased for not wanting to do something outgoing and extroverted "because that's what I went to school for". I've compiled a list of the gems I come across the most often.

"What do you mean you don't like public speaking - you're in communications.."

Yes. I went to school for communications - I did not go to school for public speaking and theater. The very thought of having to not only speak in front of a large audience but be theatrical as well makes the introvert in me want to curl up under the table and cry.

Don't get me wrong, I love to communicate. If I'm comfortable with you, if I'm talking about something I'm passionate about you'd be hard pressed to get me to shut up. Public speaking and acting is a small part of communications. The reason I fell in love with PR/Comms is because I love creating. I love taking my ideas, other peoples, clients ideas and turning them into something tangible. I live for the feeling of being able to reach out into nothing and spin and create something.

"How can you be in communications if you hate people?"

I don't hate people.

I rather like people, not all people but most people, I just don't recharge being with people. The reason that I'm spending my Sunday night curled up on the couch with tea blogging alone? This is how I recharge. 

Being around people tends to wear me out, especially when those people are in large groups. This doesn't mean I hate being around people, this doesn't mean that I need to work in a job where I'm never around people, this just means I make sure that I take the time I need to recharge. 

"You have to be outgoing - you're in communications"

I am outgoing - in my own way to a point where I am comfortable. This is not a career specific trait.

It's not that I shy away from any and every single event that requires I be a bit outgoing. There are times where I will dive headfirst into things without a second thought, and there are times where I will stand wide-eyed in the corner waiting for death. This doesn't mean I'm bad at my job and this doesn't mean I hate what I'm doing. This just means that I'm not comfortable in every single situation.

"How good are you at communications if you're not outgoing?"

I am damn good.

While I may not be the first person out of the gate to present something, I am good at what I do. I love watching the things that I work hard on, the things that I pour my soul into come to fruition at the hands of extroverted people. I love watching someone entirely different from myself take something I've worked hard on add their spin on it. 

I feel like this mindset of you have to be extroverted to be in communications exists to cheapen the work of introverted communications people. I think that people easily forget this spectrum of introverted/extroverted and thinker/doer. You can be both or one or the other or everything all at the same time. Being an introvert isn't a bad thing or something that you should work get over. It's not a flaw - it's how you are and who you are. Embrace it!

"You need to step outside your comfort zone!"

I do. 

I'm constantly stepping outside my comfort zone on an almost-daily basis. Just because I'm not the star of every presentation or conversation doesn't mean that I'm hiding in my comfort bubble. 

Just because I don't grab every opportunity in an extroverted way doesn't mean that I'm refusing to put myself out there. I think that people forget that there isn't an acceptable level of putting yourself out there. There isn't a clearly defined comfort zone that's acceptable for everyone. If you want someone to participate then put the option out there and don't force it. It's never fun or a good time when someone continues to push and push and push for you to do something you don't want to. 

Is Social Media a Waste of Time?

This is a big question for all the social-media-ites and PR people out there. How do you determine if such a new and always changing media platform is a waste of time? I think that the Achilles heel of social media in PR is the rift in “old PR” and the “new PR”.

Just starting out in the PR world and studying it in my program I’ve come to some personal conclusions, but please feel free to comment accordingly!

I think that there is a huge divide between “traditional” PR and the new social media because whether we admit to it or not, we’re in a massive technological changeover. Online platforms are taking over our traditional mediums and as a result instead of submitting “letters to the editor” to express opinions, people are turning to social media. This instant access, instant production online landscape allows people to share their ideas and opinions on a global, billion person scale. So naturally, PR wants to tap into that.

I think that the majority of PR in social media is comparable to a fly around your head during a picnic. You’re seemingly enjoying your meal, maybe chatting with people, and then this fly keeps buzzing around and you keep swatting it away. I believe that this is because right now PR doesn’t have a set “place” in social media. There have been a few fantastic campaigns that have gone viral, but for the most part those are flukes. People are in this transitional time where PR still means “traditional” PR and social media just slowly starting to move into my direct professional canals.

I think a great example of this is Facebook, knowing full well that the Facebook’s deceased horse has been thoroughly kicked. People are now starting to realize the implications of social media on their professional lives (and then there are those who don’t, but you know, you can’t get everyone.) People who post about their bosses, promote discriminatory content and just basically act like the normally wouldn’t are realizing that they there are real-life repercussions for online actions. People are conscious of what image they have on Facebook with people going as far as having a professional Facebook account and a personal account.

Twitter is a large one as well. Widely thought of as this platform that is used for tweens to post about what they’re having for breakfast, what they’re thinking and liveblogging to-the-second mundane things in your life, Twitter is getting a facelift. It’s becoming sometimes a first go to place for updates on disasters and crisis. Communications professionals are tailoring their Twitter accounts to put themselves above the average “Tweeter” while still posting 140 character content that’s attention grabbing. The birth of Twitter as a quick PR link to social media and not just for your average Joe Shmo just shows the extent that we’re really adapting to media change.

I think, in short, we’re not going to be able to lay concrete plans for the future of PR other than a need to communicate. It’s the same way that we can’t tell if the web will be consumed by an international crisis or movement or a video of a cat riding a turtle. It’s the different waves of change and we can just cling on and adapt accordingly.

Information used from the Forbes article:

Is Social Media a Waste of Time?
- Robert Wynne

http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwynne/2012/07/02/is-social-media-a-waste-of-time/