Introverts Aren’t Natural-Born Improvisers
Spontaneity usually isn’t a strength of introverts. Learn why.
When I ran a marketing business, I loved being interviewed on radio or on audio-only teleseminars. Unseen by the audience, I would have notes about my topic spread out all over the desk. It’s not that I wrote out any text I would read word-for-word in response to questions. Rather, I’d thought through what would probably be asked and what I felt about that issue and made brief notes accordingly. I remembered examples relevant to each point, so that my answers could be meaty, rich, fun for me, and full of experiential nuance.
Without such preparation, I would umm and uhh, failing to recall what I knew and feeling inadequate rather than competent and in charge. There are reasons for that. Introverts generally don’t perform well or feel at ease in situations where we are totally on the spot. We’re the tongue-tied ones who think up the perfect verbal comeback hours later, not in the moment. Yet by rehearsing or by assembling ingredients for a performance, we can shine. Here’s why.
1. Internal-first preference. When allowed to choose, introverts would rather mull something over at length and speak only after working it out. Extroverts thrive on thinking out loud, exploring ideas messily in ways they might not later want to stand behind. For extroverts, the interaction is the crucial part, while introverts care about coming up with what we really, firmly think. That takes longer.
2. Spontaneity stressors. Situations like an on-air interview or a live interactive talk need to proceed smoothly, with few pauses and no silences. When unrehearsed and completely spontaneous, this is not a rhythm that suits introverts. The same goes for party chatter, which is supposed to be fast, bright and unstopping. Insincerity there is perfectly OK, which introverts tend not to like. The presence of an audience who might be judging the speakers adds a further layer of pressure for introverts.
3. Esteem for excellence. Introverts value clear expression and in-depth meaning. Extroverts might put more emphasis on someone’s overall impact, overlooking sloppy thinking or superficial comments. For an extrovert, keeping the energy going might count as a valued element of excellence, whereas for the introvert, the content ideally should be coherent and worthy of being cast in stone. I remember one National Speakers Association presentation I attended, where almost everyone in the audience rose applauding enthusiastically and I caught the eye of someone else still sitting, like me. “What did he say?” I asked that person, probably also an introvert. She shrugged. “No idea.”
Preparing or practicing can help introverts without leading to a performance that sounds pre-packaged or scripted. Think of it as a kind of semi-spontaneity, where half of the contents are collected just off-stage, ready to be placed into a flow in the moment.
If you’re an introvert and have the courage to improvise on stage in front of an audience, I salute you. I’ve taken a comedy-style improv workshop and improvised musically with a friend, but I would put those activities into the category of, in the words of Outside Magazine editor Kevin Sintumuang, what “confuses my algorithm.”