The Traveling Introvert

Hello and welcome to the not so travelling introvert. Today

I'm going to talk about dealing with difficult people or more to the point, how

to tips for dealing with difficult people. No matter where you go in the world

world you will find difficult people and difficult to you might be what's not

difficult. For me, difficult can mean various things and while we go out in the

world and maybe we socialise and socialising is a beneficial activity that most

people look forward to, it can also come with a lot of stress as there are many

difficult people that you have to deal with out there in the world. Just about

anything you do will require dealing with humans and some of those humans will

be difficult at some point from colleagues at work to the people you cross on

the way.

While fulfilling simple everyday errands like grocery

shopping. Dealing with difficult people is frustrating, stressful and can be

downright eggsofting, so there are things that you can do to help deal with

them. And so I want to talk about six tips on how you can make it easier to

deal with difficult people. Don't have high expectations. Don't expect anything

from anyone but yourself.

You can't control others no matter how destructive or

difficult they may be. So lowering your expectations decreases your stress and

allows you to keep control where you can. If you expect nothing then you don't

need to waste your time worrying about what ifs. Stay calm and recognise the

fans. Unfortunately, some situations will require you to work with or be around

difficult humans.

Avoiding them will not work in these situations, so instead

focus on the facts and data and always draw attention to that. Don't add your

emotions to the situation and be as calm and direct as you can be. Using facts

and data to your advantage puts most difficult humans to rest as their only

trying to cause a fuss and don't have supporting facts to help. You can also

practise assertive communication. So assertive communication can be direct and

clear about your boundaries while also being respectful of the needs of others

as well.

This helps difficult humans understand that while you have

boundaries, so do other people. And so you should respect other people's

boundaries as much as you should hope that they would respect yours. Another

thing you could do is maybe find common ground. Many times there are situations

where you can find that common ground that makes it easier to cope with a

difficult human. For example, when you're completing an important work assignment,

both parties have the goal to get the work done and hopefully get to the work

done well.

So putting your differences aside and focusing on that goal

is one of the best ways that you can hope to get the work done successfully.

Another thing you could practise maybe is ignoring their demands or negative

responses. Difficult humans want to get under your skin and cause a reaction.

So don't allow this to happen. Simply ignore them and don't give them that

pleasure to gain control over you and your emotions.

Overall, their opinion or idea of you is really none of your

business or important to where your life is going. This is only a temporary

moment of your life and you have control over your body and mind not to

respond. Sometimes the best response is none at all and you can avoid defensive

and negative behaviour. Don't respond poorly. Take responsibility for the

situation and your actions and reflect on the more you reflect on that other

person's behaviour, the worse the interaction will become.

So just don't just let it go. Practise these things. Next

time you come across a difficult human, remember you are only in control of

yourself. While you cannot change the difficult person, you can control your

all reactions and responses to them. The more confidence and control you have,

the more difficult they will become.

Thank you for listening. This is Janice at

[email protected] helping you build your helping you build your brand

and get hired. Have a great rest of your week.

Hello and welcome to the Travelling introvert. So I recently

did an episode on why inspiration is so important and I got messages asking, so

it's important, how do I go about finding inspiration? So here you go. I'm

going to talk about about ways that might help you find inspiration when you

need it. And the importance, as I said before, of inspiration cannot be

understated.

Inspiration spurs creativity and it is a driving force

behind any artistic endeavour. Without inspiration, we would not have the

beautiful things we have that fill our lives with joy and happiness. And while

there are different ways to find inspiration in life, it can be difficult to

pinpoint exactly what works for you or for the type of inspiration that you

need, because you might find you need different types of inspiration for

different things. And that's okay. Because of this, it's really crucial to

experiment with different avenues until you find something that suits your

needs and helps you with what you need to do.

Look for inspiration in your everyday life. Keep your

options open, and experimenting is the best advice that you will probably hear.

Inspiration is everywhere, but you need to be willing to take the time to look.

So when you're possibly staring at a blank screen and you know that you need to

write 500 words or whatever it might be, one thing you can do is take a break.

You may be so focused on your work that you don't realise that you're exhausted

or hungry or hungry or just need a bio break.

Take some time away from the computer or your work

environment. Go for a walk, read something completely unrelated and then come

back. Another thing you can do is change your environment. Getting into a new

environment will help you find new ideas and perspectives on your work. It can

also help you get away from distractions like social media or other tasks that

can take time and will keep you distracted.

I know that some people very much have an area for creative

work and an area for non creative work and an area for admin work and an area

for finance work. And they've kind of like trained or tricked their brain into

realising, oh, I'm in the creative space now, so I will be creative. It works.

Your brain loves that kind of a thing. Another thing you can do is do a

different task.

Do something completely different from what you're currently

trying to accomplish. This, again, will help your brain sort of take a rest and

in the background it's going to be working on stuff. And this can sometimes

help your brain kind of get that downtime, that ram time to figure out

something else. Find a new perspective by talking to somebody. Find someone to

talk to and ask them and talk through what your thoughts are and they'll be

able to give feedback and or find someone who inspires you and study their

process, then think about how they found their inspiration and turned it into

something extraordinary.

You could also take a risk. The truth is, risks are

essential. Creativity often comes from pushing boundaries and exploring

possibilities that can lead to new thinking and ideas. This could also mean

confronting fears and insecurities and digging deeper into personal demons and

being open to the world around them. Taking a risk, or as some people like to

say, kind of getting out of your comfort zone, can come with its own rewards.

Depending on how it's done. You can also listen to music.

Music can be a fantastic source of inspiration and also can help change your

mood. It's a wonderful way to learn how to think creatively about your everyday

habits. So listening to songs you know you love, or instrumental music for some

peace and quiet time, can be wonderful things.

Or even having certain music for certain tasks that you do.

You can also read a book. Reading can help inspire innovative ideas while also

providing insight into new topics that you might not have explored before. You

might even discover something about yourself. Along with reading a book, of

course, I'm going to recommend listening to podcasts.

It's so easy these days to go into your podcast app and put

in a word and it will bring up a list of podcast episodes from podcasts all

over the world about that topic. So it's a great way to learn a different

perspective on a different sort of topic. And obviously, I haven't explained

every way that you could find inspiration. You could find inspiration outside.

You can find inspiration like looking at different things.

There's just so much out there. It's just being open and how

that looks to you. As you can see, inspiration can come from many diverse

sources. It may seem difficult to come by, but it takes an unfamiliar

perspective, mindfulness and proper reflection to find it. Thank you for

listening.

This is [email protected], helping you build

your brand and get hired. Have a great rest of your week.

Hello and welcome to the not so travelling Introvert. Today

I want to talk about inspiration. Every now and then I get asked about who

inspires me, why do I do the things that I do? And to be honest, I don't have a

specific, specific person in mind. There's not someone I want to be or someone

I admire per se.

And maybe it's because I don't really understand the admire

part. I don't know. But inspiration is different as far as how I find

inspiration to do the things that I do, or for new podcast episodes, for

example, or a cross stitch pattern or whatever it might be. Inspiration happens

all the time in everyday life. But sometimes we get so bogged down in the grind

of stuff and just getting through each day, you know, go to work, eat, come

home, eat, sleep, repeat that we lose the access to avenues for inspiration.

And that can be a bad thing. Finding inspiration can be the

key to success in any area of your life. It can help you develop new ideas,

overcome challenges and stay motivated. And if you don't have a way of looking

for inspiration, then life can become very stuck. Inspiration can come from

many places.

It could be a book, a movie, a song, a person. Maybe you

have a hobby that you're passionate about, or a cause that you care deeply for.

Finding ways to spark inspiration or finding things that inspire you, can help

you achieve goals in really random ways. So I want to talk about six reasons

that will help you understand why it's important to find inspiration. So let's

start with new ideas.

If you're feeling stuck, inspiration can give you the push

you need to come up with new ideas. It can help you see things from a different

perspective, maybe create or develop creative solutions to problems. Let's say

you are a writer struggling to create new ideas for stories, for a book that

you're writing. You could try reading books in a genre that you don't usually

read, or watching movies from different cultures. That could help you see

things in a new light and then come up with fresh ideas for your writing.

Having inspiration can help you overcome challenges. When

facing a difficult situation, inspiration can give you the strength to kind of

keep going. It can remind you of your goals and why they are essential to you.

If you are dealing with a personal challenge, you could look to someone who's

overcome a similar obstacle. Reading that story, watching them speak, listening

to them speak, watching a movie about them, can give you hope and ideas of how

you too can overcome that challenge.

Inspiration can help you stay motivated. Losing motivation

when things get tough is so very common. But if you have something to look

forward to, it can help you to sort of just get through those tough times.

Inspiration can give you a reason to keep going even when things are tough.

Inspiration can help you find your purpose or a purpose. If

you're unsure what you want to do with your life, inspiration can help you

discover a purpose. It can show you what is possible. Help you see the impact

that you could have on the world. Maybe your goal is to start your own

business.

When reading about successful or maybe even unsuccessful

entrepreneurs, note what it takes to repeat their success or avoid their

failures. It can give you inspiration and motivation at the same time. Also,

inspiration can help you connect with others. When you're feeling inspired,

it's so much easier to connect with others. Inspiration can help you find

common ground and build relationships.

So that's a great thing. And it can also then lead you to

help make a difference. Inspiration can help you see the potential for change.

It can show you how your actions can positively impact humans and therefore the

world. When you are inspired, you have the power to make a difference.

Say you're passionate about environmentalism. You may be

inspired to start a recycling programme at your school or workplace. Or maybe

you're concerned about social injustice. You may be encouraged to volunteer at

a local nonprofit that helps those in need. No matter what your passion,

inspiration can help make a difference.

It's what's needed when you want to achieve your goals. If

you're feeling stuck, don't give up. You will keep looking for that inspiration

and eventually it will lead you to success. But only if you give yourself time

and space to find inspiration. So that's my final thought for you.

Dear listeners, how much time do you leave every day, week

or month to find inspiration? Thank you for listening. This is Janice @thecareerintrovert.com, helping you build your brand and get hired. Have a great

rest of your week.

Hello and welcome to the Travelling Introvert. Want to talk

about guilt? Guilt comes up a lot in many different ways and one of the things

I found is it is a real driving force to what people do and why they do it. And

guilt guilt can come up in many ways that can be detrimental but.

Also can be helpful. But a lot of it is cultural.

And what you've been taught to do. And if you're a people

pleaser, this is a huge thing. It's not necessarily about pleasing people, it's

the guilt involved if you don't. So, are you guilty for no reason? Guilt is a

feeling that everyone experiences at one time or another and that is fine. It

is an emotion that tells you that you've done something wrong. But while guilt

is a normal and healthy emotion, there may be times where you end up feeling

guilty for no reason. And this type of guilt is known as irrational guilt and

is often the result of irrational thinking. And what this means is that you are

thinking about something in a way that's not based on reality. The thoughts you

are having are not a fact. There is no data supporting that information. For

example, if you feel guilty because you think you should have known better than

doing something even though you had no way to know about it, you're wasting that

emotion. You end up feeling that guilt. Alternatively, you may feel guilty

because you could have done more to prevent something from happening. As a

result, you just made the wrong choice, which may lead to anxiety and even

depression.

So we need to talk about ways to kind of look at guilt.

First of all, figure out is the guilt based on data or is it just a thought? If

it is just a thought, you need to acknowledge that guilt that you're currently

feeling is irrational. Remember that just because you feel guilty doesn't mean

you actually are guilty of anything. If you can convince yourself or point

yourself in the right direction and reframe and take a look at the data and see

that the guilt is irrational, it will be easier for you to let go of it. Write

down your feelings so you can read them out loud. Take notice of the areas that

are just thoughts and not fact and not based on data and are not realistic.

Circle them or write a note, whatever it takes to make you aware of how

irrational it is, then identify the source. Once you have acknowledged that the

guilt is irrational, it's really crucial to figure out where that is coming

from. What's in your past that might be causing you to feel guilty? Often the

source of guilt isn't even something that you should feel guilty about.

If you can identify the basis of, let's be honest, the

shame, then you'll be able to better deal with it. And sometimes that takes

time and practise, and that's okay. It's not something that will happen

overnight. This is a continual practise. Especially if you're the kind of

person who's been feeling guilty for most of your life and say you're now 2030

or 40 years old.

It is going to take a long time for you to unlearn.

That automatic a lot of the time. Feeling of Guilt one thing

you can do is try to change your thinking patterns. This means learning to

question your thoughts and evaluating whether they are based on data and facts

or reality. If you find that your thoughts are not based on facts, then you can

start to challenge them. Another thing you can do is talk it out. Another way

to overcome that irrational guilt is to find someone to talk to. It could be a

friend, a family member, a therapist, somebody that you trust. Talking through

your feelings and talking about them can help you understand them better and

might help you get answers. It is essential to take action to overcome feeling

guilty all the time. It shouldn't be a habit. And to be fair, a lot of the time

it is just because of the way that we've been conditioned. This might mean

forgiving yourself, for whatever it is you feel guilty about, or taking steps

to make sure that you don't repeat the behaviour that caused that guilt in the

first place. Taking action will help you overcome that guilt and move on. Don't

get me wrong.

Everyone struggles with guilt in some way, shape or form.

You are not alone. It is a common emotion. But there are things that you can do

to overcome it. Talking to someone about changing your thinking patterns and

with mindfulness and time, you'll learn to overcome that irrational guilt which

will help you move on with your life and your career. Thank you for listening.

This is Janice at the Career Introvert, helping you build your brand and get hired. Have a great rest of your week.

Hello and welcome to the the Travelling introvert going to

talk about self understanding and the reason this has come up is because

there's a common thread throughout of the questions that you see online or

through things that my clients ask me and a lot of it comes down to self

understanding. And so I want to talk about why self understanding is important.

Self understanding is the ability to understand who you are, what you want to

do and what you need to be able to do that. It's the ability to understand your

personality, how your mind works, how your body works and how your personality

and how it functions. It's examining understanding and comprehending your own

thoughts, feelings and motives along with figuring out how your body best works.

And you might think that this is a simple thing but the

truth is most people experience a lot of external pressure and outside

interference when growing up both at home and in society with families, when

you're at school, when you're at university and jobs. And this can sometimes

make you sort of deny yourself or try and fit yourself into a mould that you

think you're supposed to be in instead of trying to understand yourself better,

advocating for what you need and want and then going forth and getting that and

communicating that. Self understanding is so important for so many aspects of

your life. Not just your career, which is what I talk about the most, but

relationships in general and personal development. It is an integral part of

life because it helps you grow as a person and will be successful because you

understand yourself better.

And there are many benefits to understanding yourself

better, including improved decision making skills. When you understand how you

work and your own thoughts and feelings, you therefore can make better

decisions because you're going to be more rational and thoughtful about what

you do, because you're less likely to make your emotions get in the way. And of

course understanding yourself better equals greater self awareness goes without

saying. By understanding your own thoughts and motives you will also become

more aware of your own strengths and weaknesses which guides you and allows you

to work on improving yourself in those areas. Then there's improved

relationships.

When you understand yourself better you will find that

you'll be able to relate to others better, you'll be able to communicate more

effectively and understand where others are coming from. And this in turn will

lead to more robust and meaningful relationships with people you actually want

to have a relationship with rather than just having people in your life that

don't support and help you when needed. And because of this, studies have shown

that people who understand themselves better tend to be happier in the long run

than those who don't. And this there's no clearcut reason why, but it might be

because they accept themselves for who they are and aren't as hard on

themselves when making mistakes or different decisions. Overall, the deeper

understanding you have about your needs and your body and the way your mind

works will lead to better stress management.

People who understand themselves better are better at

managing stress, and this is because they know their triggers and then know how

to deal with their emotions in a healthy manner. So there are many ways to

improve your understanding of self. One thing you could do is try keeping a

journal where you can write about your thoughts and feelings. Make sure you

review your journal. Reading your entries will then help you identify patterns

about your behaviour to learn more about what makes you tick.

Additionally, spending time with those close friends and

family members can be helpful because they can give you feedback. Talking to

others about your thoughts and feelings can help you gain new perspectives and

learn more about yourself. So no matter what method you use, increasing your

self understanding is really important in living a happy and fulfilling life.

When you know yourself better, you can advocate for yourself and make choices

that are right for you to achieve the goals that are important to you and lead

the life that you want to live. Thank you for listening.

This is [email protected] helping you build your brand and get hired. Have a great rest of your week.

Hello and welcome to the Travelling Introvert. Going to talk

about quarterly planning. And the reason I'm doing this is because it's come up

a lot both on social media plus with clients that I've spoken to. And one thing

that I'm hearing resounding against and again is that why is quarterly planning

the norm? A lot of people in different organisations find that they do

quarterly planning.

The quarter starts and then halfway through the quarter they

have to start planning the next quarter. And so their mind is never really on

what they're supposed to be accomplishing this quarter because they're

desperately sort of thinking about what the next goal is rather than

concentrating on achieving the first goal that they had set. And that's really

interesting along with the fact that. Okay. Financials tend to be quarterly and

business tend to be quarterly.

But does it have to be a set quarter when people are

thinking about. For example. Right now. If you listen to this episode in time.

It is Q Four and it's considered to be the last quarter of the year and people

are thinking.

Okay. What can I do in Q Four now? I happen to be right now

in the United States and Q Four involved, okay, all of October. That's great.

Probably half of November because Thanksgiving hits the second to last week of

November.

So people are already like trying to think of travel plans

are not really there, thinking of cooking or already starting to wind down. And

then you've got the week you come back from Thanksgiving which is catching up

with all the stuff that you didn't do and all that good stuff. And then you've

got like a couple of weeks of December and depending where other festival

holidays turn up there, sometimes holidays will turn up early or later in

December depending on what you do or do not celebrate. And then you have the

holiday season and that can start anywhere, sort of like mid December. So Q

Four, when people are planning for Q Four they're like, okay, what can I do in

the next three months?

But the reality of it is probably more like a month and a

half and you're trying to squeeze all these things in and this doesn't just

happen for Q Four a lot of the time. So at the start of the year you're

thinking, okay, I have a whole year, I have twelve months, I'm going to make

this plan. And a lot of the time we make a plan based not on really good hard

data. When we plan, we normally plan, okay, we've got three months, split that

three months up into each individual month and then into each individual week.

Like, okay, so I have 40 hours to work on Eckh.

But do you really? Because do you actually consistently work

at 100% for 40 hours a week? For most of you, I'm guessing the answer is no. So

already your math is wrong and then you're not taking into consideration days

where you don't feel 100% or days that you are sick and or days where something

comes up like the car breaks down or you get covert, like there's all sorts or

just sick. There'll have to be covered.

But these things happen. And when we make our plans, we do

not take these things into consideration. We assume that we'll be 100% working

40 solid hours for that time, and that's not doing you or anyone else any

favours. And also when we're planning and one of the time, we don't take into

consideration the time needed to recharge. Great.

I can think that I'm going to go to five networking events

per month. Am I factoring in travel, preparing and recharging from said events?

Probably not. And this is where the biggest part of where introverts make bad

decisions when they're thinking about planning in general, they don't take into

consideration, okay, when do I work at my best? What kind of tasks do I do at

my best?

And when I'm at my worst, what can I do to recharge and how

long does that take? And is that just recharging mentally or is that recharging

physically as well? So when you are planning, be it Q, four off the whole year,

trying to take more time to take those things into account is really helpful.

For example, for me, when I am doing planning, it's a case of look at the

calendar. Where are all the holidays that could possibly happen, depending on

what country?

And is it federal holidays, national holidays? Insert word

here holidays. Okay, those are blocked out in my calendar. All right, what other

holidays? Like, do I work for my birthday?

What about family members or things that I do on a regular

basis? For example, pie day not working part day. I'm making pies on pie day.

So taking those into consideration, when you are doing your planning, you

shouldn't be thinking about what do I need to do first? You should be thinking

about what things are there already that give me break, that gives me pause,

that sparks joy and helps me recharge and live my best life.

I could talk about more about this, but I'm not going to

right now. So thank you for listening. This is [email protected]

helping you build your brand and get hired. Have a great rest of your week.

Hello and welcome to the the the travelling introvert want

to talk about some habits that a lot of introverts might have. And to be

honest, most of the time they are misunderstood. Like most things about

introverts, there's a lot of misinformation out there or people make

assumptions about things. For example, if you work in an office you might want

to have lunch by yourself and your coworkers might see you as being unfriendly

or not being part of the team because you wish to recharge by having lunch by

yourself. Yet I know so many introverts tell me about how they go in their car

to eat lunch or go in their car and drive around the corner so people don't

come and knock on their window in the car.

I myself used to go and sleep in my friend's car to start

with. I used to work very close to where I lived so I would walk home, nap and

go back to work. I'd even feel better off not eating food because I napped. And

then when I worked a little further away, I would actually ask to borrow my

friends car keys because it was nice and warm and sunny so I could go and sleep

in their car for half an hour. But a lot of people see this as being rude or

why wouldn't you want to eat with the team or with other people?

It's not that we don't want to, it's just normally that is a

really good time for introverts to recharge their battery. Then there's if you

are working in remotely right now, wanting to sometimes just not have your

camera on for zoom calls, introverts and extroverts all people talk about zoom

fatigue. Do you remember the world before zoom? In the world before zoom we had

confidence calls. At no point was video a thing, right?

You'd have this thing in the middle of the table and

everyone would dial in using their phone and you would have a conference call.

Yes. The bad side was people would talk over each other but it was half as

exhausting as being on video all the time. So why is it now that people think

it's rude or you're not paying attention when you are not on video in a zinc or

it's just like being on the phone. It's almost like we've forgotten how to do

that.

It doesn't mean you're unsociable, it's just some people

will find that it is a lot of stimulation looking at all the faces or just

looking at yourself for hours on end. Then there's wearing headphones at work.

If you are in an office you might use headphones to cut out the noise to help

you concentrate and do deep work. Or just maybe you just like listening to

music. It helps you get into the groove of working more.

Again, this can be misconstrued as you not wanting to talk

to people and not wanting people to interrupt you because you're too good to

talk to everyone. But reality is probably just a really good way to help you

focus. So these are just a couple of things that we talk about when people

assume certain things about things that introverts might do to help them

recharge. Now, it doesn't make us rude. It just means that we know what we need

to keep our batteries charged and people should respect that and maybe just ask

a question, but not in a derogatory or accusing way.

Then there's also sort of like small talk and wanting to go

out for drinks after work. Yes, sometimes that might be great, but if we've

just spent 8 hours in and out of meetings around people and then you want us to

go and spend another two or 3 hours talking and drinking with people, it might

be too much. Our battery might already be drained and spending more time with

you would drain our battery further. So we don't necessarily want to do that.

And a lot of people say that this is prime, like bonding time for the team when

you're out of work and you can let your hair down and talk about to be honest,

you talk about work.

So after having 8 hours a day doing that at work, why would

you necessarily want to go and do it in your recharge stroke spare time? So

this is again one of those times where people just jump to conclusions about

what helps and works for different humans to help them just be better at work

and be better in their lives. I would love to tell listeners what is one thing

that you do in your work environment that people question or misconstrue?

Please email me at janice@thecareerintrovertcom and let me know. Thank you for

listening.

As I said, this is Janice, the career introvert helping you

build your brand and get hired. Have a great rest of your week.

Hello and welcome to 

The Traveling Introvert want to talk about public Speaking speaking

skills, presentation skills. So many times I hear people who are introverts say

that they don't like public speaking speaking because they're introverts. And

it's really interesting to hear that because then it kind of perpetuates the

myth that introverts can't do public speaking, which is not the case. What

tends to be the case is that there are some levels of anxiety, of fear, of

nervousness around public speaking and possibly just not even knowing the right

tools that you might need to channel your anxiety or how to calm down or just

being confident in what you're saying that makes you think that it's because of

your introversion. But as we all know, introversion is about how you channel

and use your energy, right?

So I want to talk about ways to channel your anxiety, if you

do have that, and how to improve your public speaking skills. Now, there is no

public speaker in the world that hasn't felt nervous, some butterflies before

going out on stage because it is something that can be electrifying and

lifechanging. And you're telling people who want to listen to you about

whatever it is that you're speaking about. You are commanding that attention.

So it is only natural that you feel maybe a little nervous and some butterflies

in your stomach and that is fine.

Now, first of all, there's so much inspiration. If you need

some inspiration when you're thinking about public speaking and the type of

public speaker that you would like to be, or even just presentations or talks,

look for recorded videos like Ted Talks or that sort of thing, giving speeches

about maybe a similar topic as you. What have they used for props or visuals?

How have they arranged things? How have they even crafted their speech?

What has worked and what hasn't? And then another thing is

when preparing for a presentation or a speech, consider the wants and needs of

your audience. What problem is it that they need solving? How can you help

solve it for them? And what do they really want to hear from you?

And last but not least, actually it should be first is what

is the goal of your presentation? Why are you doing this in the first place? Is

it to make a sales pitch? Make sure that people are informed about X, Y and Z?

To let people know about a service that is available or an event like why are

you doing that?

And that will help channel some of the things that you want

to talk about. Use your body language to advantage facial expressions, gesture

and good posture all help make an impact when telling your story. Look people

in the eye, smile, walk around if possible, to give more passion and more

credence to what you are saying. The best speakers present themselves as being

friendly, confident, enthusiastic and energetic. Wow.

Well, that is the first of the podcast and I am not going to

edit it out. Practise breathing from your diaphragm instead of from your chest.

When we are anxious or nervous, we tend to do a lot of shallow breathing, and

it makes it really hard for us to get deep breaths and to be able to slow

ourselves down. So just think about breathing from your diaphragm. It really

helps if you're standing up instead of your chest to better control your voice,

the tone of your voice, the pitch and the volume.

Because what some people find is when they are nervous or

anxious, their pitch and their tone changes in their voice, which makes it more

difficult for people to understand, which helps them feel more nervous, and

then they get faster and all of those things. So stop thinking about those and

remember, take a good outline. You don't have to fully write out your speech.

And if you have slides, please, please do not read from the slides. Have some

bullet points and talk around it.

It's going to make you sound more natural because you're not

reading word for word. Engage your audience, ask questions and encourage

participation. That way they're more likely to remember what you're talking

about and not just be like, staring at the PowerPoint presentation that you

have in front of them. People love hearing stories. Stories help bring the

message home for them.

So if you can tell a good story that's related to your

speech topic, please do so. And practise. Practise again and practise some

more. Thank you for listening. This is Janice at The Career Introvert, helping

you build your brand and get hired.

Have a great rest of your week.

The word introvert has a lot of myths and misconceptions about it. In this episode I talk about the real meaning of the word "introvert"

Hello and welcome to the travelling introvert. Today I want to talk about how about the word introvert? Introvert is a word to explain how you manage your energy levels. However, when you go and look at a dictionary, like dictionary.com says a person who prefers calm environments, limits social engagement or embraces a greater than average preference for solitude, that sounds great, but then when you go and look at thesaurus.com, it's synonyms for introverts. It's got observer, okay, homebody, solitary, loner and wallflower.

And those aren't necessarily true.

In a world that is constantly moving, it can be really easy to forget the importance of taking time for yourself and for us introverts, that is especially true. It doesn't mean that you're shy or antisocial. Of course you can be both. But in the pure sense of the word introvert, it means that you manage your energy levels differently from, say, an extrovert. As an introvert, you may need more time alone to recharge after a long day or maybe a night out.

And to be fair, it is no secret that introverts need alone time to recharge their batteries. But what many people don't realise is that energy levels can also affect how an introvert functions in social situations. When an introvert is low on energy, we are more likely to be withdrawn and less engaged in conversation. On the other hand, when we're feeling energised, we may be more talkative and outgoing. So what causes these fluctuations in energy levels?

It could be anything from a poor night's sleep to too much stimulation from being around people. For introverts, it's really important to pay attention to our energy levels and make sure that we are getting enough downtime and recharge time. Otherwise we risk burning out and becoming overwhelmed by social interactions, interruptions and just not having enough me time. And so when you think about this need for managing the energy levels, that's why introverts may prefer to work independently rather than being in a team setting. This is why introverts might prefer an office where they can be closed off, where they can function and go ahead and deep dive into work than an open plan office.

Even in the cubicles, they might prefer the corner cubicle rather than the one that faces out to the career. Introvert might also enjoy having some me time after work or on weekends in order to relax and recharge. And this looks different for all types of introverts. We all have different ways how we recharge and how we manage our time. And sometimes we are more aware of our energy levels than other times.

But if you meet us when we've had back to back meetings and haven't had any chance to take a drink of water or a bio break, you're probably more likely to have a lower energy level, which will lead to us seeming less attentive or taking part less. It's not that we don't want to, it's just our battery, our energy battery has been drained. Some people say, oh, you have resting hate face on you. Well, no, I'm just tired. I'm just tired and I want to go home.

So when you think about the word introvert, don't think about it as being shy or socially anxious or not liking people. While those things might be true, they are not the pure thought about introversion. It's a word to explain how you manage your energy levels. And you, as an introvert, are in charge of managing your energy levels, not anyone else. So this is why you have to advocate for yourself.

This is why you have to learn what works for you to energise yourself. And what does deplete you. Different things will deplete you in different ways. Different people will deplete you in different ways. You are in charge.

So use that energy that you have. An advocate for yourself. Advocate for your needs. Speak out. And this is how people will get to know more.

That introvert, it's not a bad thing. It's just a word to explain how you manage your energy levels. Thank you for listening. This is [email protected] helping you build your brand and get hired. Have a great rest of your week.

Bye.

Hello and welcome to the travelling introvert. Today I'm going to talk about the fact that you don't need a mentor, you need a champion. And there is a huge difference. Mentors and champions are two important figures in the professional world. Both offer guidance and support, but there are key differences between the two.

And so many times I hear people saying they need a mentor and expecting that to come for free, which is a whole other conversation. Mentors are typically more experienced professionals who take on a protégé to help them develop their skills and knowledge. That mentor protégé relationship is built on trust and mutual respect and the mentor provides advice and feedback to help their protégé grow. Champions, on the other hand, are advocates for someone or something within an organization. They use their influence to promote their protégé or project within the company.

And they work to ensure that that person has the resources they need to be successful. They already know that you can do the job and so they promote for you and fight for you. While both mentors and champions can be helpful in professional development, it's really important to know which one is right for your needs. So as I mentioned, a champion is someone who can help you accomplish your goals. So usually people have been successful in their field and are willing to share their knowledge with others.

But they tend to be people who go and be above and beyond the call of duty to help you succeed. They're the people at work who will always have your back. They're the ones who fight for you when you need it the most. Champions are the ones who make sure you get the credit you deserve and they're also the ones who help promote you within the company. So that's the difference between a mentor and a champion.

And we all need a champion in our lives in some way, shape or form. So how do you even go about finding a champion at your workplace or even outside of your workplace? Look for people who are always willing to help you'll find that a champion is someone who is always willing to sort of lend a helping hand, whether it's the project or just offering advice. Look for someone who is a strong advocate for others who are in your position. A champion is someone who will speak up for you when management isn't around.

And they'll also be your biggest cheerleader during reviews or promotions. Think about attending events like conferences, meetups or anything sort of work related or not work related, but events related to your field of interest. And start networking with people there. You may be able to find a champion among those attendees. Now, in today's working world, it's more important than ever to have a champion.

Maybe also a mentor, but a champion in your corner. A champion is someone who believes in your potential already and is willing to fight for you, whether that means helping you get a promotion or being a standing board for your ideas. Yes, they might think you need improving or in your skills, but the whole point is they already know how awesome you are. They already can see how good you are at your job or how good you might be for a different role or project or promotion. They already have that faith in you, rather than a mentor who sees your potential and is going to help you work towards X, Y and Z.

They are both useful in their own distinct and different ways. So I'd love for you to take a moment and think, who is a champion for you right now? Do you have one? If you don't have one, how can you go about finding one and how much of a difference that can make to you and your professional career?

While it's great to have a champion at work, I get it. It's not always easy to find one. But if you are lucky enough to have a champion in your life, especially at your work, cherish them and let them know how much you appreciate their support. And why not look into being a champion for somebody else, someone who needs lifting up. Having a champion in your corner at work can lower stress, help you when you're down, and give you insight into very different areas of your workplace and get you on projects you never would have dreamed of.

Thank you for listening. This is [email protected], helping you build your brand and get hired. Have a great rest of your week.