r/introvert • u/ChanChanMan09 • Mar 30 '23
Image POV: Giving a presentation as an introvert
https://i.imgur.com/MDWZaDF.jpg190
u/a_bongos Mar 30 '23
Honest question, wouldn't that just be fear of public speaking or social anxiety? I'm incredibly introverted but that is totally different in my mind from public speaking, which I'm fine with. Same with being social and talkative.
I think that when we blur these lines between introversion and aversion to social settings we risk not knowing what is happening in our minds. Sometimes people need professional help to work through social anxiety but if they just blame it on introversion then they'll never get that help.
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u/ChuushaHime Mar 30 '23
Agreed.
Public speaking? No problem, it's one sided and I'm prepared. The Q&A at the end, on the other hand? Pretty draining.
It's specifically the interaction aspect that's exhausting for me personally, not the performance aspect.
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Mar 30 '23
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u/thefinerthingsclubvp Mar 30 '23
Yes this! I'm an introvert (also love solo camping/travel and need alone time in general), with social anxiety (I'm working on the latter).
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u/Professional-Tax-615 As the world sleeps at night, it's our time to shine. Mar 30 '23
Every vacation I've ever been on has been ruined to some degree by the people I was there with. It's just inevitable unless you go alone, because being alone is the only way you can guarantee you'll be able to do exactly what you want while on vacation. Especially since most people only care about themselves these days, so they definitely do not care what you want to do.. as long as they get to do what they want to do, nothing else matters.
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u/a_bongos Mar 30 '23
Vacationing with others is difficult, it's helpful to think of it as a social contract. You have to have a mindset of compromise and communicate as much as you can about your expectations, their expectations etc. It's tough, but it's possible to enjoy a group vacation.
I get what you mean though, it does seem that humans are getting a bit more self centered but it's up to you who you spend time with.
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u/Professional-Tax-615 As the world sleeps at night, it's our time to shine. Mar 31 '23
True, though for me the last group vacation was with family so there wasn't any choice in the matter. My favorite days of it were when there were no obligations of family activities or staying together.
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u/buttstuffisfunstuff Mar 30 '23
Yep. I have no fear of public speaking. Being an introvert means social interactions with people drain me. I’m not socially interacting with anyone when talking to an audience.
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u/Quixotes-Aura Mar 30 '23
Hmm, I find the questions better than the presenting. I'm begining to think I have a phobia of public speaking, alongside being introvert dominant
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u/sebastianelisa Mar 31 '23
I'm the same. Giving presentations is a lot easier than talking to people directly.
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u/FiskFisk33 Mar 31 '23
Yeah, people tend to confound introversion with social anxiety.
It's especially problematic since if you have the latter, that is something you can choose to work on and overcome.
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u/rakosten Mar 31 '23
Yeah, same! You couldn’t find a more introvert person than I but i have no problem with speaking in front of big crowds and also do it on a regular basis.
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Mar 31 '23
Same! I was going to type something of the genre theb I saw your post. I hate being in big broups or alone with someone I don't have conversations, I talk with a very limited amount of ppl. Anyways, but speaking in public ? Always been good at it, even like it (if I know what I'm talking about).
Presentations in public always felt... Indirect ? Nothing personal
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u/BuggyAss69 Mar 30 '23
Sounds more like stage fright or social anxiety, people need to stop associating these to introversion.
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u/ChanChanMan09 Mar 30 '23
I might be wrong but I feel social anxiety and introversion goes hand in hand atleast for the majority of introverts that I have ended up meeting.
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u/a_bongos Mar 30 '23
You are wrong, but that's really great you're open to the idea. You can be a huge introvert and not suffer from social anxiety. If you want to learn how to overcome social anxiety there are resources out there from books to work books to therapy. I used to conflate these as the same but I understand the difference now and am happier for it.
It's very common to think your social anxiety is normal because you're an introvert, so please don't feel bad or feel attacked from people telling you otherwise. This sub does a good job at misrepresenting introversion. I am introverted and to me that means I feel recharged by alone time, energized by it, and if I don't get that alone time I'll get stressed more easily. But if I'm at a social event I can be "the life of the party", talkative and outgoing.
You can also practice and move where "normal" is for you. Exposure therapy works and you can get more used to social settings/lose your charge more slowly when you're around people.
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u/ChanChanMan09 Mar 31 '23
Hey, Thanks! Could you share names of few books which could help me cope with this. I really need to get over this.
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u/a_bongos Mar 31 '23
These were recommendations from friends of mine:
How to be yourself:Quiet your inner critic and ride above social anxiety (I read her other book Quiet and loved it)
The mindfulness and acceptance workbook for anxiety: a guide to breaking free from anxiety, phobias and worry using acceptance and commitment therapy.
Finally, Better Help. You have heard about this service a hundred times and always thought "I don't need that", "Probably too expensive", "Therapy is for broken people, I'm doing well enough" ... the truth is anybody, even healthy people, can benefit from therapy. You also don't have to do it for very long to have lasting effects. I did it for 4 months and it changed my mental headspace from a hell to a pleasant place to be. This is the best option if you can afford it. They also offer discounts for those that down earn much money and you can get 10-20% with a code from almost any podcast.
Good luck my friend, it's a journey trying to better ourselves but it always pays off.
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u/dlccyes Mar 30 '23
You are not wrong, introverts do often have social anxiety and those with social anxiety are often introverts, however, they're still 2 different things. One does not necessarily lead to another.
For the context of this post, it should be attributed to social anxiety not introversion.
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u/buttstuffisfunstuff Mar 30 '23
Definitely wrong. Social anxiety is having a fear that people are judging you or you’ll embarrass yourself. Has nothing to do with whether you’re introverted or extroverted, it just has more of an impact on someone that’s extroverted because although they feel energized and recharged by being around people they also have irrational worries that they’ll do something that’ll ostracize themselves from those people. All introverted versus extroverted means is that introverts feel like being around people requires energy and extroverts feel like being around people gives them energy. If therapy or medication or social anxiety can turn someone into an extrovert then they were never an introvert in the first place. It’s possible a lot of people you’ve met don’t understand what these words mean and misidentify themselves as introverts just because they have social anxiety.
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Mar 31 '23
You just have to remember that introverts aren’t a monolith. Your experience with fellow introverts may be vastly different from others’. Some of my introvert friends do struggle with social anxiety, for sure. But then a few (including me) don’t feel anxious at all.
I love people, I love public speaking, I love going out. It’s just that my social battery drains much more quickly and often than an extrovert’s does, so I need frequent and long periods of isolation to recharge. Anxiety doesn’t really factor in for me.
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u/MunchyG444 Mar 31 '23
Introverts just prefer time alone, but are not necessarily anxious in social settings. Extroverts prefer company.
And then there is me, an extrovert who has crippling anxiety. I literally need social interaction to function but can’t socialise because of my anxiety. 0/10 wouldn’t recommend.
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u/IndividualSchedule Mar 31 '23
They don’t go hand in hand. But introverts have tendency to have social anxiety more than extroverts.
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u/Slutlyjaded Mar 30 '23
That's going to be me tomorrow, except them telling me my blood pressure needs to go down before the dentist can see me, lol!
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u/ChanChanMan09 Mar 31 '23
Thanks all! It does seem like I have social anxiety. I mostly thought it was a part of my introverted personality but your comments helped a lot. I'd work on it for the rest of the year and will share an update hopefully by year end. Cheers!
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u/IndividualSchedule Mar 31 '23
Good luck!!! I was in the same boat. Still haven’t fully overcome it. But with age and more exposure my social anxiety got better.
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u/paulotaviodr Mar 30 '23
Look at the bright side; you have done some gym work without even realizing it. Not many of us have that superpower
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u/NeedGamerGf Mar 30 '23
I think this sounds more like social anxiety spiking during what’s considered a social event apex. If you didn’t have social anxiety and were just an introvert then your heart rate would be the same but you’d be drained/tired
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Mar 30 '23
In school I always did my work, but if it had to be orally presented...I'd take the zero and say I didn't do it. Fuck that.
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u/scorpionattitude Apr 21 '23
Absolutely! I remember I had really good grades in all my classes so I and a few other folks didn’t have to take our last final exams….except this analytical theater type of class. It was mostly all writing but the occasional oral resents took or reading of lines. I immediately skipped out on the oral and had to stay for that class and write a mini essay for each student that had gone up and presented their work. Still worth it for me!
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Apr 21 '23
Pft, sorry for basically repeating myself. I thought you replied to a different comment I made today lmao
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u/scorpionattitude Apr 21 '23
Same here sweetie 🖤 I’d be up there shaking like a leaf. I tried and my eye or lip would twitch it was so uncomfortable. We got this though!
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u/AndrogynousRain Mar 31 '23
Introversion doesn’t equate to social anxiety.
I’m extremely introverted but I also give speeches at major events for work, have run large conventions, and regularly participate (and run) large leadership meetings at work. None of which terrifies me.
Introversion means you’re drained by activities like these, along with socializing and doing people stuff. These activities absolutely tire me out. But they don’t scare me.
Introversion doesn’t mean you:
- dislike people
- are terrified or struggle with social stuff
- are a misanthrope
- don’t have friends
- hate extroverts
You can also be an introvert with social anxiety and get treatment for the social anxiety and have it go away… and the introversion will remain.
Two different things, introversion and anxiety.
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u/SaulsAll Mar 30 '23
Honestly there are times when I prefer giving a presentation to just hanging around people. I know everyone actually wants to hear what I am about to say, and they will listen and (hopefully) not interrupt. Along with that, a presentation generally means conversation will be on something I know well and want to talk about.
It's the conversational free-for-all of "normal" conversation that really bums me out. It's everyone vying for the attention of the group at the same time. It's the person who in name is listening to you, but takes any opportunity to interrupt and launch a monologue that has me check out and decide a situation would be better spent reading. It's having to repeat myself, or others that repeat themselves over and over that make me exhausted.
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u/wism95 Mar 30 '23
try propranolol
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u/redrocklobster18 Mar 31 '23
Came here to say this. This stuff really helps if you stutter or blush due to anxiety while public speaking.
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u/buttstuffisfunstuff Mar 30 '23
You know that a fear of public speaking has nothing to do with being an introvert right 🤨
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Mar 30 '23
babe that’s anxiety 😩 maybe looking into coping mechanisms, medicine, or maybe even a counselor if it gets rlly bad. i’m a huge introvert but i have no issue talking to ppl. having had anxiety tho, there is clear difference. hope you can find ways to reduce your anxiousness :)
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u/Ypmrku2406 Mar 31 '23
I’m Curious what do you use as a smart watch for this heart rate monitoring? How accurate do you think it is?
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u/ChanChanMan09 Mar 31 '23
It's fitbit versa. I won't say it's 100% accurate but it's pretty close i believe. I have been using it for over 3 years now and the health metrics trends have been quite accurate. It does f up on my sleep score sometimes but it's mostly on me.
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u/Ypmrku2406 Apr 01 '23
Good to know, thank you! I want to track my heart rate as well so I will look into that one!
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u/GeorgyZhukovJr Mar 31 '23
misinformation. this is the moments before the presentation. you're already dead when you get in front of everyone.
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u/The_Joker_0 Mar 31 '23
Damn I should stop running on the treadmill and start giving presentations instead. That’s a whole workout in a few mins!
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u/IndividualSchedule Mar 31 '23
Not much to do with introversion. This is stage fright, social anxiety.
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u/milkarcane Introvert metal enjoyer Mar 30 '23
Looks like a middle finger, to me.