EDITOR

PHOTO BY LIA CROWE

introverts superhero

“Introverted? Here’s how to be more social,” reads the title of an Oprah Magazine article on social media.

“Just once,” says the response, “I’d like to see an article called: ‘Extroverted? Here are some tips on how to be quiet and reflective.’”

For our special section The Influencers, we asked Central Island entrepreneurs, “What is your superpower?” So I’ve been thinking about superpowers and wondering how powerful I’d feel as an extrovert. Imagine walking into a roomful of people and crushing it — ping-ponging from person to person, giving each the perfect dose of chit-chat (albeit, often shallow) peppered with anecdotes (albeit, often incorrectly recalled) and salted with firm handshakes and the perfect conversational exit.

My husband is an extrovert and I watch him with awe as, first, he’s always excited to go to a party; second, he’s not ready to leave after half an hour; and, third, he happily mingles amid the throng, seemingly eager to talk to everyone there. My introvert-spawned party goals are to arrive late, leave early and know exactly where the escape areas lie — back porch, bathroom and edges of the party where fellow introverts huddle. I’ve learned to seek out other introverts and embark on deeper — if not slightly awkward — one-on-one conversations. (The longer the conversation the better — and it usually is long because introverts don’t know how to gracefully move on).

But is being an extrovert really a superpower? Years ago, when Bruce and I lived in Calgary, we attended numerous political functions. Since I was new to the city and he’d been there for years, I knew no one and stuck to his side as he went about his mingle-and-jive moves.

But soon something emerged. After the event, I’d ask him if he’d heard a certain comment, noted a new pairing, caught a bit of body language. Usually it was no, no, no. Also, it turned out that as he was chatting away to a group of people, I’d often fall into a side conversation with someone else in the group (usually another introvert), ultimately discovering all sorts of things unknown to my extroverted husband.

Finally, I learned that being an introvert helps me listen. Extroverts, many of whom like to talk a lot, often chatter away to introverts (who are just thankful to appear engaged in a conversation). And as a good interviewer knows, if you want to find out something, say very little and chances are the speaker will fill the space with words. This brings to mind a certain interview I conducted about 11 years ago with a charming extrovert based in Calgary. To say the least, I left the interview extremely pleased with all the information I’d pulled from this man, who turned out to be my future husband.

So bring on the introvert superheroes! Perhaps we can teach you extroverts how to be quiet and reflective.

Find more superpowers and superheroes in The Influencers (page 44). I hope you enjoy your journey through this issue of Boulevard, with its fresh fashion, a gorgeous home, intriguing people, food and a sassy narrative about being a life model. And speaking of our new Narrative feature, writers — don’t forget to submit your stories.

Susan Lundy Editor

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