Today’s Daily Prompt from the folks at WordPress:
Are you comfortable in front of people, or does the idea of public speaking make you want to hide in the bathroom? Why?
I read this prompt a few times before responding.
Frankly, I don’t think it’s an either/or, and just goes to show how careful one must be when making comparisons.
I am very comfortable in front of people.
AND the idea of public speaking makes me want to hide in the bathroom.
This is because I officially and comfortably straddle the extrovert/introvert border.
For example, I both like being with people and hate being with them. I am both energized by social gatherings and dread them. I crave attention, and sometimes scan my surroundings frantically looking for a ditch to hide in.
I am complicated.
I also straddle the thinking/feeling border on the Myers Briggs, which basically means I don’t have trouble making decisions, but I regret them soon after.
Personality evaluation is one of my favorite pastimes. But i don’t often get to partake in it with a partner. Most people are content just judging others, but I quietly sympathize with them, tagging them an E or an I; totally a J or completely a P.
“Oh…he is such an ENFP,” I think to myself. “Emphasis on the P! Jeez.”
(In addition to being complicated, I am also a big dork.)
My husband, who is finally reading Quiet by Susan Cain (after months of my starting many conversations with “well, if you had read Quiet by Susan Cain”), asked me tonight where I fell on the Myers Briggs test.
“I consider that foreplay, honey.” I told him. “We’ll definitely be having sex later.” I then reminded him I was a total J, and a massage would be in order along the way. After all, process matters. Plan ahead!
Wait: Do I like public speaking?
Was that the question?
Frankly, I dread it. I literally feel vomit in my throat the first 30 seconds I am speaking. But when I’m up there, and I’ve reeled them in (which I usually do), my heart alights and I get high on the focused attention — all on me.
And afterwards, when I know for certain I killed it, I gloat.
My face is all “S” even though I am a full on “N” most of the time.
Is there anyone out there who actually feels comfortable speaking in front of a crowd? Who just steps out onto the stage, grabs the mike, and from the very first moment feels at ease?
That seems a bit like a P to me.
And not P (perceiving) but P psychopathic.
But I am not judging.
Nope, not me.
