Am I an Introvert or Extrovert?

Recently I have had three interesting conversations with completely different people, who don’t know each other, and they live in different countries (Malaysia, Canada, and the UK). The surprising comment that was made on these occasions that I couldn’t get out my head is their opinion that I am an “extrovert”.

Now, this is really interesting because I don’t believe I fit into the “extrovert” category. But then again, looking at the description of an “introvert” doesn’t seem a good fit either.

Whilst I appreciate you can’t necessarily pigeon hole everyone into one or two boxes, but why did three different people who don’t know me that well, in three different scenarios, immediately think I am an extrovert?

And, if I am not an introvert or an extrovert, then what am I?

Personality Traits Defined

If you weren't entirely sure what the definition of an introvert and an extrovert are, take a look below.

Introvert Definition

is someone who prefers calm, minimally stimulating environments. Introverts tend to feel drained after socializing and regain their energy by spending time alone.

https://introvertdear.com/what-is-an-introvert-definition/

Extrovert Definition

extroverts are often described as talkative, sociable, action-oriented, enthusiastic, friendly, and out-going. On the negative side, they are sometimes described as attention-seeking, easily distracted, and unable to spend time alone.

https://www.verywellmind.com/signs-you-are-an-extrovert-2795426

The Answer – I am an Ambivert

I am willing to bet that most of you haven’t heard of this lesser known personality type. This is the category called “Ambivert” or “Ambiversion”.

We tend to group things into one or other categories to make life easier, but rarely are things so simple. Most likely things are on a continuum going from one type to another. This is the case with the Introvert and Extrovert continuum.

Carl Jung first identified a third personality type that seats in the middle of introvert and extravert. However, it was psychologist Hans Eysenck, who first coined the term “ambivert” in 1947 and is a balance between Introvert and Extrovert personality traits.

Ambivert: The Best Personality Trait?

I never considered it before, but there is a real advantage of being an Ambivert. This is especially if you can harness and balance the benefits of both extroversion and introversion characteristics.

In researching more about the characteristics of Ambiverts, I discovered that there appears to be what’s called an “ambivert advantage”.

Larry Kim highlights the following attributes that this trait shows:

• Ambiverts are more flexible
• More emotional stable
• Ambiverts more intuitive
• Ambiverts more influential

A study that looked at the effectiveness of Extrovert personality traits in salespeople found that Ambiverts are actually the “perfect” salesperson. The reason is that ambiverts are able to find the right balance between selling (extrovert characteristic) and serving (introvert characteristic) customers well.

Source: Wharton School's Adam M. Grant research paper in 2013 – Rethinking the Extraverted Sales Ideal: The Ambivert Advantage

The Happy Ambivert

I like the fact that I am an ambivert. Although it's sometimes not helpful to stereotype it’s good to know where I sit on the introvert-extrovert continuum. It’s also a good conversational starter when a stranger thinks you’re either introverted or extroverted.

Some of the characteristics on both ends of the spectrum were highlighted some months ago when I asked for constructive feedback from friends and family. Mostly in terms of sociable and attention-seeking, which are clearly extroversion.

Finding out I am an ambivert puts these into context and I understand myself just a little more. There are likely many more ambiverts out there who don't fit the introvert or extrovert mold, well know you know what you likely are.

What were your answers to the questions above? 😉