When it comes to communication - particularly verbal communication - knowing your audience and their preferences and tendencies is key to getting cut through.

For example, while some people are primarily visual learners (see our article on visual learners here), others are more likely to be auditory learners. And while some people love detail, others are more interested in the bigger picture (learn about the different types here, too).

Whether or not you are more likely to have introverted or extroverted tendencies also plays a part in how you give and receive communications. 

Contrary to what you might think, introverted doesn’t mean ‘quiet’. What it does mean is a person gets their energy from being alone - they need the quiet to recharge. They also typically need some time to process information and then respond thoughtfully (whereas the extroverts process out loud, and then eventually get to their responses!).

So if you want to engage the introverted personalities on your team, here’s a few tips for communication practices you can try.

Provide an agenda … well ahead of time!

“Welcome to the meeting everyone. Here’s what we’re going to do today - group brainstorm some ideas for our project!”

For a person who has introverted tendencies, that’s a nightmare scenario! They haven’t had time to think about the topic and come up with some ideas, and group sessions mean - in all likelihood - the extroverts will take over with their verbal processing.

So, to encourage contributions from introverted personalities, make sure you provide a meeting agenda well in advance so they have time to process, and come up with their own ideas they contribute. 

Steer away from large-group discussions

It’s important to remember that just because a person doesn’t speak up in a group session, doesn’t mean they have nothing to contribute. It’s more likely they just don’t feel comfortable in that setting or haven’t had time to think through the information. And that’s a huge loss of ideas, and means you risk communication not being understood or acted on.

So further to providing the agenda or pre-reading, try and avoid group discussions where there is a large number of people. Smaller groups will work best, and allow time for everyone to make a contribution. 

To help keep the conversation focused, provide 1-2 focus questions to answer, or you can even consider putting a timer on for each person - this can be done in fun ways!

Offer opportunities for one-on-one, two-way conversations

Whether you’ve sent out an email, recorded a voice message, or held a meeting, you should also provide opportunities for our introverted friends to engage with you - and each other - one-on-one. For example, after a meeting, send a message saying you’ll have ‘open door time’ for any questions or ideas. Or in an email, provide times people can call you or set up a meeting with you.

This gives the introverted brains time to process the information, and develop their questions and ideas, and deliver them in a comfortable space.

Click here to take the personality quiz and find out what you are.