Hey Reader,

This week I received a thoughtful question from a reader that I suspect will resonate with many of you. It touches on something I’ve personally dealt with throughout my entire career: being an introvert in a field that often demands extroverted behaviors.

Let's start with the question I got:

Firstly let me say thank you for your vulnerability in sharing this. I knew immediately that this would be a great topic for this newsletter because so many internal communicators I talk to tell me they are introverted, just like me. Sometimes people tell me this almost with shame in their voice, like being an introvert is a bad thing or something to be embarrassed about.

It's not!

Let me be super straight with you: I am an introvert to the bone.

I grew up in a big family in a noisy household. Picture 5 kids, 2 parents, 2 grandparents, a dog, a cat and a bunch of neighbourhood kids constantly in our house. Nice but very noisy! And my childhood meant that I was very rarely alone. I was always surrounded by people, and sometimes I found this very hard. I genuinely like to be alone. I like to read books quietly, I like to just sit around and think about stuff, I find that solitude helps me recharge. I'm a bit of a loner and guess what, that's FINE!

But let's clarify something important: introversion and shyness are not the same thing, though they're often confused. Just because I am introverted this doesn't mean I'm shy. So why don't we start there, let's unpack introversion vs shyness a bit and then I'll share some of my experiences and advice to help you out.

---

SPONSOR: THE CURIOUS TRIBE

Inside The Curious Tribe, we're a group of internal communicators learning, upskilling and growing together. All while having fun at the same time.

Not only does The Curious Tribe encourage you to become more strategic, but you also get the benefit of learning from others.​

If you're an internal communicator, The Curious Tribe was made for you.

Here's what tribe member Laura Kennedy says:

"Because of The Curious Tribe, I've been able to establish true SMART objectives for 2025 with my team to stay focused and accountable on measurable goals. This has long been a struggle for our team.

What I love about The Curious Tribe is having direct, regular access to wicked smart comms professionals to problem solve and glean good practices on real-time challenges and projects."

Get your membership here

---

Am I shy or am I introverted?

So let's start with me. Am I shy? No. Am I introverted? Yes. They're not the same thing.

Shyness is when you feel nervous or timid or reserved in the company of other people, especially in a social situation. If you're shy you might find that you blush or stammer when you're talking to a group of people, maybe you feel uncomfortable talking to people you've only just met, maybe you don't want to call attention to yourself and you feel uncomfortable in the spotlight.

Now when I think about shyness like this, it doesn't sound like me at all. I make a good living out of creating attention online, running workshops for strangers, speaking at conferences and teaching at webinars. I'm not shy and I don't get nervous speaking in front of people. I'm pretty comfortable in the spotlight and strangers don't particularly faze me.

But I am an introvert. Because for me, being an introvert is different to shyness. An introvert gains energy through quiet and solitude. Constant social interaction drains my energy. Introverts tend to be introspective and deeply reflective, they live in their own head a lot, they have a rich inner world. They don't dislike people, but they don't feel the need or desire to be surrounded by people all the time - this would leave them feeling exhausted.

Here are some hallmarks of my own introversion:

• I don't like group projects
• I feel tired after being in a crowd
• I'm quiet and reflective
• I prefer to write rather than talk
• I have a small circle of friends
• I daydream and use my imagination a lot
• I find small talk unbearable
• I retreat into my own head to rest
• I don't find it uncomfortable to sit in silence with others
• Working in a noisy open plan office is my nightmare

So when I think back to the question at the start of the newsletter, it strikes me that this person may be an introvert with a lack of confidence, rather than an introvert who is deeply shy. It's worth adding that introversion is a relatively stable personality trait (I'm unlikely to ever become an extrovert), whereas shyness and social confidence can be developed and improved with practice.

Your introversion is a superpower in internal comms

If you're reading this and you feel that you are an introvert too, then maybe you're wondering how on earth you're going to do the work in internal comms which requires a lot of extroverted behaviours. Because in our world you need to spend a lot of time with people, work in groups, build relationships, present in front of others and so on.

So let me share something that took me years to realise: your introversion is a superpower in internal comms. Because as introverts, we typically excel at observing and absorbing information before responding, making us naturally adept at deeply understanding stakeholder needs. Introverts often thrive in deeper, more meaningful conversations in small groups or one-one, which is exactly the kind needed for effective stakeholder management. We also typically prefer to be well-prepared, which leads to more structured, productive meetings.

Many introverts express themselves brilliantly in writing. And in a world of information overload, we need thoughtful, clear and compelling writing more than ever. Our preference for reflection means we likely create messages with care and nuance, considering multiple perspectives before communicating.

I'll give you a real example from my own career. Some years ago I was working with a particularly difficult executive who was known for dismissing communication professionals and disregarding the advice of the comms team. In our first meeting, rather than trying to "sell" my ideas, I spent most of the time quietly observing his communication style and asking thoughtful questions about his priorities. I engaged my curiosity. I noticed he kept referring to "measurable outcomes" and "data-driven decisions." After the meeting, I took time to reflect and came back with ideas for him that centered around metrics and measurement with a clear objective and plan. He later told me it was the first time he felt a comms professional truly understood his perspective and we worked brilliantly together after that. My introvert tendency to observe deeply and process internally before responding created the breakthrough that others had missed.

So here's what I want you to know: being an introvert is not something to be ashamed of or feel embarrassed about, and it's certainly not something that will hold you back from having a stellar career in internal comms. I reckon I'm a pretty good example of what you can achieve in internal communications as an introvert.

Practical advice for being an introvert in internal comms

Okay let's get a bit more practical now. Because if you are an introvert then you're likely to struggle with stakeholder interactions and meetings. How do you cope with this? What do you need to focus on?

Prepare with intention

What has always worked for me is preparation time. Intention, deliberation prepartion is key. I recommend blocking time before a meeting to prepare. What's on the agenda? What do you know about this stakeholder and their own agenda, in other words how do they want to work together or what do they want you to do as a result of this meeting? What are their priorities? Write down some talking points, some questions you need to ask and anything else you want to have in front of you.

Simply taking 15 minutes to prep before a meeting will help you feel far more relaxed and more confident. Having written notes prepared ahead of time will help you feel less anxious and gives you a framework for the conversation.

And something that has REALLY worked for me throughout my career is leading with curiosity in these conversations, rather than feeling pressure to drive the entire conversation or have all the answers. Position yourself as an information-gatherer or an insights-collector. Here are some questions you can try:

• What's your biggest challenge right now?
• What's your biggest priority to achieve this quarter?
• If you could change one thing about how we communicate in the company, what would it be?

These kind of open ended questions will open up a world of information for you, and all you have to do is sit back and listen. If you're an introvert you're probably a great listener, so lean into this, take some more notes, ask probing questions. People love feeling truly heard and you're probably brilliant at this.

Observe quietly

Something else you might be brilliant at is observing things and reading the room. Introverts are often very observant, we sit quietly and take it all in, we notice subtle cues that others might miss. Use this strength in stakeholder meetings by watching for signs of engagement or discomfort, for example if they're leaning forward that often signals interest, but if they've crossed their arms then they may be feeling resistant or defensive. Pay attention to whether stakeholders use your terminology in their responses because adoption of your language typically signals buy-in and agreement.

Validate your observations with stakeholders by asking simple follow-up questions: "You seemed to react strongly when I mentioned the quarterly newsletter, could you share your thoughts on that?" or "It sounds like next months townhall is particularly important to you, could you unpack that for me?"

This will show you are actively listening, you are attentive, you're picking up on insights and you're really demonstrating tactical empathy.

Find time to decompress

Something else that it looks me YEARS to realise is that if I have a big in-person event or if I'm going to a conference or something really crowded, then I absolutely need to factor in time to decompress afterwards. Because I know myself well enough to know I will be exhausted after being surrounded by others and I'll need to recharge.

Now don't get me wrong - I love spending time with people. I love face time with the comms community. I just know I'll be a total waste of space after and I won't get any work done the next day haha!

Let me give you an example.

I had a book launch party in London last September. I was looking forward to it for months and months and I knew that about 100 internal comms pros were going to come along and celebrate with me. It was an absolutely brilliant night, I was surrounded by the smartest and friendly people ever, I had a ball. But I also had a plan, because I knew I'd be shattered. Here's what I did.

• Book launch was 5pm - 9pm to deliberately give me time to unwind afterwards before going to sleep
• I went to Marks & Spencer and stocked up on top-tier snacks for my hotel room before I went to the party
• I jumped in a taxi right after the event ended and spent a very enjoyable 2 hours in bed eating snacks and watching Netflix ALONE to recharge

I was still very tired the next day but planning in deliberate solitary recharging time really helped me a lot. I loved every minute of the party and I had some plans in place to mitigate the tiredness I knew I would feel after. That's a win-win in my book.

You can do the same in your role in internal comms. If you know you've a big presentation coming up or a social event that will drain you, then block off time the next day for a meetings-free zone or even see if you can take the morning off to relax. Be mindful of managing your social battery. It took me bloody years to learn this but it's magical know that I know about it!

Lean into your introvert advantage

The bottom line is this: your introversion isn't something to overcome in internal communications, instead it's an asset to leverage. Your natural tendencies toward deep listening, thoughtful preparation and meaningful one-on-one connections are exactly what effective stakeholder management requires.

Rather than trying to become more extroverted, focus on working with your natural strengths while building specific skills that help you navigate the more socially demanding aspects of the role. With intentional preparation, keen observation and well-planned energy management, you can thrive as an introvert in internal communications just as I have.

I enjoyed writing this, it's probably a bit more personal than usual but I hope it was useful to you. As ever, feel free to hit reply anytime and send me your questions to write about in this newsletter.

Thanks for reading and stay curious,

Joanna

Find me on YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn and check out my book​

---

Want to work together?

• Join The Curious Tribe. This is my membership community for ambitious, curious communicators who want to achieve more in their roles and have fun at the same time. Membership allows you to work directly with me for 12 months, make deep connections with other communication pros who 'get it' and improve your skills through training and learning. More info here.
• Ready to review your channels and content but don't know where to start? Download my practical Internal Comms Audit Playbook to guide you through a DIY audit - no expensive consultant needed.​ This has ready-to-use templates and checklists to give you a systematic way to do your own audit which you can repeat every single year. Get it here.
• Take a shortcut. I've developed a collection of tried-and-tested templates, checklists and how-to guides for the key processes you'll need in your role as an internal communicator. You can download my Internal Comms Cheat Sheets here.​
• Enroll in my course, "How to use ChatGPT as your personal assistant". This is a practical, on-demand course where I'll show you 38 specific ways to use ChatGPT to help you in your job as an internal communicator. You can enroll in the course here.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​
​Unsubscribe ·