Ep 224 - Thriving as an Introvert at Work with guest Richard Etienne

Have you ever wondered how introverts can truly thrive in the workplace—without pretending to be someone they’re not? In this episode of The Quiet And Strong Podcast, host David Hall sits down with award-winning personal brand and communication consultant Richard Etienne to explore actionable strategies for embracing your introverted strengths at work.

Tune in as Richard shares his journey from feeling out of place in traditional office environments to empowering thousands of introverts through workshops, masterclasses, and his own organization, The Introvert Space. Discover practical tips for making your voice heard in meetings, building authentic connections, and expanding your comfort zone—without burning out or losing your sense of self.

Whether you’ve long embraced your introversion or you're just starting to explore your unique style, this conversation offers encouragement, inspiration, and practical insights you can use right away. Listen in, discover how to navigate the workplace with confidence, and be strong.

Episode Link: QuietandStrong.com/224

Richard Etienne is an award-winning personal brand and communications consultant with a passion for helping individuals and businesses thrive.

A former official videographer for UK Prime Minister Theresa May, Richard now spends his time delivering workshops and presentations on introversion, leadership, and communication. Founder of The Introvert Space, a community interest company dedicated to empowering introverts in the workplace, Richard authors popular ebooks like Self-Promotion for Introverts.

Connect with Richard:

Visit TheIntrovertSpace.com for resources, ebooks, and to learn more about Richard’s work.

Richard is also on LinkedIn 

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David Hall

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Transcript

Richard Etienne [00:00:00]:
And at the beginning, I thought there was something wrong with me because I wasn't the individual who, you know, would socialize as much or be out for as long as everyone else or speak up a lot in meetings or, you know, within brainstorming sessions in certain organizations. It was only until I read in the Bible for for introvert, Susan Cain's choir. Right? That I realized, ah, okay. So I'm part of this wonderful community of individuals who who call themselves introverts. And I remember looking online for classes or workshops that I could attend that helped introverts within the workplace, like, you know, how to manage things such as networking, meetings, and other self promoting activities. And I just couldn't find any. And so I spoke to who I now consider a friend who who ran the master classes for The Guardian newspaper and pitched it to her. Like, hey.

Richard Etienne [00:01:00]:
What about if I run run a few master classes on how to thrive as an introvert in the workplace? And, yeah, it started out as a trial, and then, you know, eighty years later, you know, and thousands of attendees later, it did pretty well. And that's when I realized, ah, okay. So there's there's there's something here. There's definitely a need.

David Hall [00:01:30]:
Hello, and welcome to episode two twenty four of the Quiet and Strong podcast, especially for introverts. I'm your host, David Hall, and the creator of QuietandStrong.com. This is a weekly podcast dedicated to understanding the strengths and needs of introverts along with strategies for success. Introversion is not something to fix, but to be embraced. Normally, we'll air each episode on a Monday. Be sure to subscribe on your favorite platform. Leave a review or a rating. That would mean a lot to me and help others find the show.

David Hall [00:01:59]:
Tell a friend about the podcast and help get the word out there that introversion is a beautiful thing. Richard Etienne is an award winning personal brand and communication consultant with a passion for helping individuals and businesses thrive. A former official videographer for UK Prime Minister Theresa May, Richard now spends his time delivering workshops and presentations on introversion, leadership, and communication. Founder of the introvert space, a community interest company dedicated to empowering introverts in the workplace, Richard authors popular ebooks like self promotion for introverts. Alright. Well, welcome to the Quiet and Strong podcast, Richard. Richard, it's so good to have you on today.

Richard Etienne [00:02:42]:
Thanks, David. I really appreciate it.

David Hall [00:02:45]:
Yeah. And as I was saying to you, I've been aware of your great work for a while, and it's it's good to have you on today. But we're gonna talk about the work you do around introversion. Tell us about yourself and your journey as an introvert to what you're doing now.

Richard Etienne [00:02:57]:
So I I've always been a storyteller. I love just just telling stories, listening to stories, and that essentially has been, like, the narrative arc of my my career journey. So I started as a a videographer or filmmaker for local businesses to tell the story of their company. And and this is before YouTube, so this was for their websites. And then I made my way into civil service, public service life, and was the official videographer for for the Commonwealth heads of government meeting or in 2018, which was the largest event The UK had hosted since the Olympics in 2012. And then from there, became the videographer to to the prime minister at the time, Theresa May, and other senior officials and so forth. So and then moving in yeah. It moved into internal communications, so it was more about the telling the story of the of the collective family that is, you know, the the employees of the organ within an organization.

Richard Etienne [00:04:01]:
And throughout all of that, what did change and develop was my understanding of of me as a as an individual. And at the beginning, I thought I was shy. I thought I there was something wrong with me because I wasn't the individual who, you know, would socialize as much or be out for as long as everyone else or, speak up a lot in meetings or, you know, within brainstorming sessions in certain organizations. And it was only until I read essentially what the Bible was it in the Bible for for introvert Susan Cain's choir?

David Hall [00:04:41]:
Yeah. Absolutely.

Richard Etienne [00:04:43]:
Right. But I realized, ah, okay. So I'm part of this wonderful community of individuals who who call themselves introverts. And I remember looking online for classes or workshops that I could attend, participate in that helped introverts within the workplace, like, you know, how to manage things such as networking, meetings, and other other self promoting activities. And I just couldn't find any. And so I spoke to who I now consider my friend who who ran the master classes for The Guardian newspaper and pitched it to her. Like, hey. What about if I run run a few master classes on how to thrive as an introvert in the workplace? And, yeah, it started out as a trial, and then, you know, eighty years later, you know, and thousands of attendees later, it's it's it did pretty well.

Richard Etienne [00:05:43]:
And that's when I realized, ah, okay. So there's there's there's something here. There's definitely a need, and that's what's led me to where I am today.

David Hall [00:05:55]:
Awesome. And, yes, so many people, myself included, thought something was wrong. You know? And I too. I used to be shy. I used to lack confidence, but I realized it's because I didn't understand my introversion. I didn't understand that I was a deep thinker, that I often am gonna think first and then speak, but that's a gift. And, you know, if you don't understand that that your extroverted friend is speaking out loud most of the time and you're you're you're processing internally, there could be some conflicts. And many, many guests like yourself have said that Susan Cain was definitely a big pivot point for them.

David Hall [00:06:33]:
And I I like that you called it our bible because it really did help a lot of people realize there is nothing wrong with you. You know? You have some gifts.

Richard Etienne [00:06:42]:
Exactly. And and that and one of the greatest feelings is is being reintroduced to yourself. And there are there there there there are many ways to to have that done, and and and one that's really worked for me as well is having mentors who are both, you know, more introverted and and more extroverted because, you know, they hold different mirrors to you and and help you to understand yourself in in in different ways and reveal those inner strengths and qualities that you mentioned earlier for sure.

David Hall [00:07:14]:
Yeah. So you started doing workshops early on after kind of embracing your introversion, it sounds like?

Richard Etienne [00:07:22]:
I did. Yeah. And it was one one thing that really came out was that a lot of my there are lots of people who attended, their biggest hurdle or obstacle at the time was speaking up in meetings. And I totally get it. I understand it because meetings can seem like this competitive arena of egos and or job titles and, you know, hierarchy and so forth where it's about just being heard. It's not about actually contributing something meaningful. Because sometimes silence is a good way to contribute as well. When a point a good point has been made, and we've all agreed, let's move on.

Richard Etienne [00:08:08]:
Like, you you don't we don't need to speak for speak's sake. And, unfortunately, because of how the the the office can be extrovert favored, we then need to play the game in order to be heard, in order to get ahead and and to to be noticed. And so, you know, within these workshops, I I often share certain tips on, you know, how to even, like, cut in when someone's over, you know, speaking for too long or if you realize you're being avoided, certain words or phrases to not use such as, you know, I'm no expert, but, you know, like, try try to reduce self deprecation. And so they're they're they're the workshops, you know, definitely wonderful. They've moved now to the to the the London standards newspaper or this now it's just called the standard actually. And, yeah, still, you know, meetings is such a massive, massive topic, especially now we've moved into a a more hybrid working world.

David Hall [00:09:16]:
Yeah. So what tips do you have? How do we be how are we how can we be heard as introverts in the meeting? And, you know, I often say that it's a myth that we don't have much to say because we're always thinking, so we have a lot to say. But just we sometimes struggle in that meeting environment to share our share our ideas.

Richard Etienne [00:09:37]:
Indeed. So I tend to encourage my attendees to think of meetings as being much broader than before the start date, like, before the the start time and after it finishes. So before a meeting even begins, if you know based on the agenda or the topic that there is a particular point you would like to raise, before the meeting, reach out to the chair. Let that individual know, you know, you know, that this part of the meeting I would like to raise x, y, or zed because there's also something quite uplifting about being name checked or mentioned by the chair to actually bring something to the table because now now everyone really has your attention. Another one that I remember putting in a blog for The Guardian was to practice name calling. And it's like, you know, your listeners are probably thinking, oh my gosh. What? What do you mean? And there is so set, you know, set the scene. This is an online like, a webinar, and you've you've tried all of the tips.

Richard Etienne [00:10:45]:
Right? You've you've typed in the chat. No one's responding. You've used emojis. You put your raised hands, all of these things, and no one's really no one's coming to you or or the the the individual is just talking. Instead of doing that age old kind of apologetic interruption where it's like, so so sorry. So so so sorry. Sorry. Sorry.

Richard Etienne [00:11:09]:
Don't do that. Say the person's name. David, that was a great point. Let me just stop you there for a second because to add to that or have you noticed? You know? Oh, David, I'd love to really just, bring in insert other person's name if you want to act as an ally to the quieter colleague. Because there's something I remember, obviously, many of us have have heard of Dale Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People. And within that book, there was a line about how the the sweetest sound to a person is the sound of their name. And I I yeah. I mean, yeah, it could be from childhood, you know, when our parents used to call us or whatever.

Richard Etienne [00:11:45]:
But or in schools when the teachers used to shout, and they you know, call our names to to get our attention, but it just seems to work. It's not rude. It, acknowledges the person's presence, but also makes your presence known. So if you're the person who wishes to interject, that's my own way. But if, also, if if you wish to interject as an ally for someone else, again, that's that's a useful tip. But those those are those are two ones that definitely come to mind that have been quite effective for a lot of people.

David Hall [00:12:14]:
Yeah. Yeah. That's a classic book, and I love that piece of it because it's so true. You know? We do like to hear the sound of our names. I've never heard it, the strategy like that. So I I love that, Richard. It's a great it's a great one. You know? And so it helps it not seem rude.

David Hall [00:12:30]:
You know? It helps you be heard. That's that's

Richard Etienne [00:12:33]:
great. Thank you.

David Hall [00:12:35]:
Other strategies for, you know, meetings and beyond, like, just being visible at work?

Richard Etienne [00:12:40]:
So there is the classic networking, hey, you know, coffee catch ups and and the rest of it. Now, again, going back to the whole hybrid work model that we have, for for a lot of introverts, we're going to actually create some sort of networking opportunity might not come natural. It is important to, you know, have a bank of names or individuals that you would like to speak to and then just sending them a very quick fifteen minute meeting invite to talk about maybe your current, you know, your current workload and things that you were you are have achieved and what your I or any ideas you may have towards a strategy that that individual is working also working towards. Because what you are trying to do is build connections. You it's not about ultimately selling. We're not salespeople. We are trying to, yeah, build connections, build a network to show our relevance, show our value, but it also be mutually beneficial. Like, how can we support said individual or or or their teams as well? So, you know, I I often do that.

Richard Etienne [00:13:52]:
Yeah. I I definitely go out. I mean, this this this is how you and I met, and this, like, this is this is how it works. Right? Like, it's it's wonderful. And and then from from this podcast, who knows where else other connections can be made as well? So, you know, that's that's, you know, that's definitely definitely one. And then it is about, again, you know, the the the social more social kind of engagement. So most industries have conferences, events that's specific to that particular topic. Could you, again, attend one of those? And this is this is really, really useful again for that hybrid environment because if one doesn't have an office space to go to or is you know, they they don't want to go to the office.

Richard Etienne [00:14:40]:
That's also a personal choice if you have that freedom. There are events where you can have so many of these influential individuals in the same place at the same time to then save you having to if you don't want to do the coffee catch ups, you know, all of the time. You don't have time for that because of your own personal commitments or otherwise or choice. So it's it's I think most of my tips come from all that. You know, the the core of it is building connections, getting your name out there because I talk a lot about personal brand and how your one's personal brand is what people say about you when you're not in the room. So how can you positively influence those words said about you? So number one, they're correct, first of all. But, also, number two, it provides increased opportunities for you. So, yeah, those those are two things that that that definitely come to mind.

David Hall [00:15:34]:
Yeah. And, you know, we regularly bust myths on this show and admit that we regularly bust is that introverts don't like people, but, of course, we absolutely need connection. But what you described is we're gonna connect in different ways. You know, we're gonna thrive more on connecting one on one and building our network that way. In the big group, you know, in the typical traditional networking event, do you have any tips for that?

Richard Etienne [00:16:04]:
I mean, a couple that come to mind for sure is setting yourself a target. Now my whole thing I'm I'm in the saying that if I this is when business cards were a thing. I don't know if people do business cards much anymore, but if I leave with one good business card, that is I've I've I have more than I had before I, you know, before I left the left the office, left the whole the house or whatnot. So it's it yeah. The target thing, it doesn't have to be business cards. It could be just I would I want to talk to three new people Because what that does is after a while, you actually forget that it's a target. It is that element of comfort that I often talk about. It's not stepping outside of it.

Richard Etienne [00:16:52]:
It's just expanding your comfort zone. And to your point, we do like people. And once we do get into that flow and swing of things, we will stay there until our energies gets to a point where we need to leave. And that's all it is. You know, personality is as we often say on on your podcast, it's about energy levels. It's not about whether one's shy or, you know, he doesn't like people. So target setting is is is really important to to me, and I hope it's useful for others. And but also clarity of message.

Richard Etienne [00:17:28]:
You know? Are you clear and concise about what value you bring? Because, unfortunately, people people will often ask you what you do rather than, like, how are you? What do you know those type of things? Right? So because of that, we need to have that answer ready to go. And the easy response to what do you do is just saying your job title. But your job title is not what you do. It's it's it's I don't know. It's like what it's how what you do is labeled. But, you know, for example, with being a videographer to the prime minister, I mean, yes, that is quite that's what it says on the tin. But, actually, what I do is is I help to make the prime minister more relevant to her electorate with through visual storytelling. And it's like, oh, what? Wow.

Richard Etienne [00:18:18]:
Okay. So what what what do you do here? Well, like, I bring her core values to life through this this medium, that medium, and for this audience, etcetera, etcetera. So your job title is not is not the thing that you do. So, yeah, have a target of individuals that you'd like to speak to, but then also prepare that statement or that that that story for for what it is you actually do.

David Hall [00:18:44]:
Yeah. I love that. And go with the goal. Like you're saying, go with the target. And if you make a good connection or two, mission accomplished.

Richard Etienne [00:18:53]:
There you go.

David Hall [00:18:54]:
Richard, you said something else, and I actually heard you say this recently on a podcast. There's talk about comfort zone and getting out of it. Right? But often, if we just get out of it, then the next time, we're gonna have to get out of it again and over and over. But you said, and I've said this before too, it's not getting out of it. It's stretching it or expanding it. Talk more about that.

Richard Etienne [00:19:21]:
So we do things better when we are comfortable. I often use the example of James Bond. When we watch his films, what's the way he introduces himself? Right? The name's Bond. James Bond. Now when he says that, the whole cinema doesn't erupt in lot into laughter. Why? Because the the guy says it in a very comfortable and assured way. This guy is confident. If I went up to someone or someone came up to me, asked me my name, and I said, the name's Etienne, Richard Etienne, they might think something's a bit weird.

Richard Etienne [00:19:58]:
Yeah. Yeah. Right? So it's it's important to be comfortable when we are trying new things. So how can we make it so? So for example, public speaking is often labeled as a very huge fear, And I have said this on a few occasions, and I will keep saying it. Start small. Expand. So if it's a case of filming some videos and then putting them on social media, you only had to talk to your phone or whatever camera lens you have. And then webinars, again, it's you're just looking at a little green dot at the top of your laptop screen, for example, where you can turn everyone else's cameras off.

Richard Etienne [00:20:40]:
Then you can go into a studio. It's just a handful of individuals in a camera and and so forth. And before you know it, you're on stage on a panel, for example, speaking to hundreds of individuals. But you have maintained that comfort level all the way while building confidence in order to achieve your goal. So, yeah, that's that's what I mean by that.

David Hall [00:21:00]:
Yeah. And what what have you learned about public speaking as an introvert?

Richard Etienne [00:21:04]:
That you I definitely need to leave adequate space after to recharge. And it's quite difficult because you're you're an amazing orator, David. So this is what will happen. You will give a talk. You will step off the stage. People People want to congratulate you. They want to understand a bit more. They want your context.

Richard Etienne [00:21:27]:
So keep that in mind and preserve enough energy for those conversations. Don't don't don't leave it all out on the, on the stage, on the platform. Keep that in mind. But then also, you know yeah. Just just, yeah, bear that in mind. Maybe even let the organizers know that you need quiet room or somewhere to just to to go and, like, gather your thoughts before going on to the to the stage or platform or doing what you need to do before I do my master classes online with the the standard. And previously with the Guardian, they'd want to do a sound check. Right? So, usually, it's, like, fifteen minutes before the start.

Richard Etienne [00:22:05]:
I would ask to do the sound check half an hour. I mean, sometimes even forty five minutes before the start so we can get that out of the way. And then I have thirty minutes or so to to what I need to do to just get ready and breathe and then and then begin. So it's about intentionally creating spaces for that energy, replenish or generating or, you know, just it's it's it is about focusing on that. That's that's, like, the biggest tip I would give for that.

David Hall [00:22:36]:
Yeah. And, definitely, technology can go bad, can go wrong, and you wanna have some time to troubleshoot anything. But then I like how you put it. It's not just that. It's you're getting in the right headspace for your speech and then planning what's after. And, of course, you know, people wanna talk to you. You need to do that. But then, you know, when are you gonna give yourself a break is important to plan out too.

Richard Etienne [00:23:02]:
Indeed. Indeed. And, yeah, I I I've always feel much better for it, so I hope it's helpful for for our listeners.

David Hall [00:23:11]:
Yeah. And, of course, you know, you're you're a storyteller. That's a such an important part of public speaking. How can people, introverts especially, bring more storytelling into their speeches, and why is it important?

Richard Etienne [00:23:26]:
So the way to do it is actually to be a good listener and hear what is important to to others because that is what you can then draw upon when telling your stories. Like, I will never tell you the type of story that will work for individuals. I don't have the formula for that. But as long as it is relevant, it's it's from a place of authenticity, it it should work. And that's why it's because quite often, if you write the stories about your yourself, you know, don't you don't have to be incredibly vulnerable. For example, one this evening, I'm going to an event where we I I have five minutes to tell a story about myself, and I will open it by simply saying, you know, I realized the other day that there's a combination of three words in the English dictionary that have been said to me more times than any other throughout my entire life. And I hope at that point, people are like, wait. What? Tell me more.

Richard Etienne [00:24:20]:
And, like, the whole purpose of that is to, yeah, get one's attention and and to to to kind of put that narrative thread across that keeps people engaged. And then, you know, I end with a reminder of what those words are and and how relevant it can be to them. So, yeah, be a good listener. Hear what matters to other people. Make it relevant. Make it authentic. There was a a quote from Franklin d Roosevelt Roosevelt who once said about public speaking, be sincere, be concise, be seated. I was like, yeah.

Richard Etienne [00:25:01]:
Because, you know, you don't want to to do, you know, war and peace level, you know, novel. It's it's it's just about hitting the right touch points so that an individual can take in the information that you are sharing in a way that is easy to digest.

David Hall [00:25:20]:
Yeah. If an introvert feels like they struggle with storytelling, can they get better at it?

Richard Etienne [00:25:26]:
I believe so. With with many things, practice, but also watching and, again, listening to others. There are, are yes. We spoke about Susan King's book, but I actually found out about her because of her TED talk, which has been seen with tens of millions of times. I I don't even know the numbers now, but and and, you know, obviously, TED is wonderful. Right? Like, see, speakers aren't allowed any more than something like fifteen or something like that, minutes to to share their story because of, you know, what we just what I mentioned a bit earlier. And so, yeah, observing how others do it because there will be I wouldn't say a formula, but most most good talks or stories start with a thought provoking question, a stat, some sort of cliffhanger y, yeah, statement a bit like what I mentioned earlier. They're probably listening still thinking, what are those three words this guy? And so it's it's when you see enough great speakers do that thing, great storytellers do that thing, you do eventually kind of work out, okay.

Richard Etienne [00:26:40]:
It's usually this long. It starts in this this type of way. There's a bit of, conflict. All great stories have conflict, we're told. And it's true, I guess, because yeah. I feel like like just like a rom com, like classic. Yeah. Like, is is yes.

Richard Etienne [00:26:58]:
There's comedy. Yes. There's romance. But there's always a bit of conflict that that helps to to to draw the emotion and and keep you going. So yeah, there there will be elements that you will notice as an introvert. And because we are really good at observing and we have the ability to, yeah, deep things, consideration, it will come. You know? It it's not about overthinking, and we are we are the the pioneers of that.

David Hall [00:27:28]:
Yes.

Richard Etienne [00:27:29]:
But if we trust our process, then we'll be fine. Actually, those three words are yeah. You'll be fine. I mean, technically, it's four, but, like yeah.

David Hall [00:27:43]:
Awesome. You know, you said that Susan Cain's book was instrumental for you. What what do you share with people when they need to do some self awareness work? How do they do that? How do they figure out their strengths and their needs?

Richard Etienne [00:27:58]:
So I would encourage them to ask those close to them who they trust to describe them in three words or or another thing they could ask them is, can you tell me what I do? Because then you get to see how the world sees you. Then you can write down how you want the world to see you if it def if it doesn't match up with what you're told. And then you can go online and look for whether it's courses, videos, books, etcetera, that helps you to get to basically bridge that gap. That that is that is probably the the the most straightforward way I would yeah. That's that's that that's kind of it, really. Like, I could keep going on, David, but it is it's it's yeah. Listen to others. Then listen to yourself and then find a way to to boost the gap.

David Hall [00:28:53]:
Awesome. And what's the strength that you have because you're an introvert?

Richard Etienne [00:28:57]:
Patience, I think. I don't often hear this one a lot, but I do yeah. I I am quite patient with myself. I may want to come up with a solution to a problem. It's it can be quite easy to become frustrated and always or or then or or or bring disbelief. Like, maybe maybe there is no solution. But I am patient with myself. I am patient with others because it could take a while for another individual to, okay, in basic, like, for conversations, get to the point.

Richard Etienne [00:29:30]:
Or in much broader circumstances, to build a connection with with said individual. Like, there are individuals who have walls, barriers, and it can be quite difficult for us as introverts or definitely for myself anyway to to connect with an individual who doesn't who isn't authentic and and wants to to wear a mask or behave in a way that they think leadership should be portrayed. It's like, no. They're like, be you. But I am I I I am I understand how the world how the majority of the world, the corporate world works, and I understand the pressures that individuals face to to be a particular way or, yeah, to behave a particular way. And so, yeah, I am I am patient with with people. I'm patient with myself, and I'm and I am patient with processes. This is this is how things are for a while.

Richard Etienne [00:30:30]:
I am patient with that, and I will do my best to to to navigate the system until I either am comfortable with it or I can change it.

David Hall [00:30:42]:
Yeah. You know, I don't know that I've heard that one yet. And it's it's awesome because, you know, as introverts, we're internal processors. And, you know, sometimes I I think of things quickly, but more often with ideas, it I take some time and it's better. And I think, yeah, it's it's if I had brushed that decision, it wouldn't have been as good. You know? So it could be for process you know, thinking of something in which people can get very impatient with us sometimes.

Richard Etienne [00:31:15]:
Or it

David Hall [00:31:15]:
could just be in conversation where you need a minute to think because your brain is is processing. You know? And like like I said, introverts tend to think out loud, and and extroverts, we're we're processing internally. So some patience to let our brilliant minds work is very important. I love that.

Richard Etienne [00:31:34]:
Thank you. Yeah. My my father often said, haste makes waste. Not a normal thing, but I I do like that as a limbic.

David Hall [00:31:41]:
Yeah. So tell us is what what is the introvert space?

Richard Etienne [00:31:44]:
The introvert space, oh, it's it's a a hub of community for introverts to access the tools and resources they need in order to thrive in an extrovert paper working environment. And there's also a place that in institutions, organizations, whether educational workplace based can come to understand how to make their place of work or place of education more inclusive for for introverts and, you know, so that it has that equity of access and inclusion for for all personality styles.

David Hall [00:32:21]:
Yeah. And what can we find on your website? I I I saw some great resources there.

Richard Etienne [00:32:27]:
Thank you. Thank you, David. Yeah. So there are there are three I would say three. No. Free free to download, non cost ebooks that range from, you know, self promotion for teachers and and, you know, lower lower grade schools on how to make their their classroom environments more inclusive for for introverted pupils. I've recently released a toolkit for the Inclusive Management of Introverts or TIMI, and that's that's focus towards HR professionals, people managers on how to make both the recruitment and retention elements of their of their work process more inclusive. I mean, just for example, you know, onboarding training.

Richard Etienne [00:33:14]:
You know? Like, onboarding training has wonderful tips for all sorts of, like, protective characteristics, which it should do, you know, whether it's disability awareness, gender equity, you know, racial inclusion, and all the rest of it. Wonderful. But the one thing it doesn't have is anything to do with personality. And I and, like, we all have a personality unless a scientist tells me otherwise. So it's just just just it's simple, small changes that can make such a big difference, and this is what a lot of the the resources on my website provide and there's helpful videos and and other things as well because we all consume information in different ways.

David Hall [00:33:57]:
Yeah. And we are definitely diverse by our personalities. You know? And and I've learned that they come very natural to us. You know? We don't choose them, but we can learn to embrace them. But like you're saying, it's often overlooked. You know? We we still it's 2025, and we still don't understand our unique personalities that would come to us naturally.

Richard Etienne [00:34:20]:
That's so true. And I remember during COVID lockdowns, it's only probably by lockdown season two that individuals were going, wait a minute. Why am I, like, feeling stressed in this house? Oh, it's because I need connection. I'm I'm an extrovert. Oh my god. I miss people. And, you know, I need these people to to to give me energy. And on the flip side, introverts were like, oh my god.

Richard Etienne [00:34:46]:
Like, I didn't realize that I just needed a a few days alone or at home or whatever in my own space to to be able to work in a way that was more comfortable for me. I had space to recharge and and or or to protect myself from mass energy depletion. That conversation was was always background before, and it was only really raised out of curiosity. But then, yeah, it just suddenly became something that was front page. And I'm sure you, David, I know I was, like, approached by quite a few individuals, and, like, the questions increased, and it was wonderful. But you're right. We're we're in 2025, and the pace of change is still still slow. It's not it's not quick enough.

Richard Etienne [00:35:33]:
It's it's moving, but not at the pace that is necessary for for adequate change.

David Hall [00:35:40]:
Yeah. And it's interesting because I definitely think that introverts handled the lockdowns better, but this is where the podcast was born because people were also just thinking, oh, introverts just love this. And, definitely, I knew some very lonely introverts out there. You know? We need connection. It looks different often, but we need it. You know? And I'm home. My wife has always worked from home, so now we're in her space, me and my three kids. It's a stressful time.

David Hall [00:36:12]:
It wasn't all just great being an introvert being at home. You know? So there was there we did learn a lot from it for sure.

Richard Etienne [00:36:19]:
Indeed. Indeed. I hope hope life is less stressful now. Yeah.

David Hall [00:36:23]:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. For sure. For sure. What you were talking about branding.

David Hall [00:36:30]:
Expand a little bit more about on that. Like, how do we what is our branding, and how do we do that as an introvert?

Richard Etienne [00:36:36]:
Yeah. So I often mention it's it's what people say about you when you're not in the room. And when when are we most not in the room? It's it's usually online. So I often encourage people to put their name into, you know, a search engine. Now if you have a very popular name, it might be difficult. So just add, you know, your job title or something that would just differentiate you from the others who share your name and see what comes up. You know? And I and I often encourage people to do on private browsing mode or incognito because then you get rid of the caches and the rest of it, and you get to see you as the world does. And then you get to go, Okay.

Richard Etienne [00:37:13]:
So if if I'm applying for a role or if I'm trying to if I've recently networked with someone, what are they going to do most likely is put my name into a search engine. And this is oh, so this is what comes up. Do I like what I see? You know, what needs to change, if anything? And, you know, click on images. What images are there? You know? So that's quite important. So for the parts of our our personal brand that we can fix or, you know, change, we should. And they are simply, you know, making sure your your LinkedIn profile, if you have one, is up to date. You know, you you have some form of a personal statement and that it contains words that you want people to words that when people put them into the search search, part of LinkedIn, your name comes up, you know, and so forth. So, you know and there's recommendations there.

Richard Etienne [00:38:06]:
Do you have any recommendations? Have you recently completed something, a project or a talk or something for someone? If so, reach out to them. Ask them for recommendation. They're more likely to do it especially soon afterwards and in in in doing kind as well. So it's it's it's just about creating that narrative where we can because, of course, there'll be elements that would be difficult or yeah. I guess impossible. But, yeah, just focus on what we can change. So, yeah, give it a go. Do some incognito browsing of yourself.

Richard Etienne [00:38:45]:
See what's out there, and then, you know, work to get it into the the shape that you that you want it to be in.

David Hall [00:38:55]:
Yeah. Do you have any other tips using LinkedIn?

Richard Etienne [00:38:59]:
So our LinkedIn URL, sort of, there at the top, we I know a lot of people often put that in their email signatures or their resume, CVs. If it has your name and a whole bunch of numbers at the end and it's all a bit messy, if you just type into, you know, Google or something, tidy my LinkedIn URL, it will give you the first result always it's always correct, and it will take you to a place where you can tidy it tidy it. So it just says linkedin.com forward slash your name. Obviously, if you have a popular name, you may have to add something like, I don't know, maybe your company or something just to make it unique to you. But it's there are lots of nice little tips where you can do that. And my ebook self promotion for introverts on my website is a is a great place to go to to to get some some additional tool.

David Hall [00:39:53]:
Awesome. And, Richard, how do you manage your energy as an introvert? What have you learned about that?

Richard Etienne [00:39:57]:
That is not about sitting on my house in my house by myself. It's it's not it's not about that. Right? Yeah. There'd be moments where I could do that, play some video games, read a book, whatever, play piano. But, actually, it's being with individuals or the small groups of people who give me joy, and they, yeah, they they are like my energy charges. It's it's it's again, there are there are misconceptions about introverts and how we recharge because look. Yeah. You know, you have a wife.

Richard Etienne [00:40:31]:
You're not gonna be like, no. There's no way. Go on holiday for a weekend while I need to be charged. No. You I'm sure you you you energize each other, and it's it's a wonderful feeling. So, yeah, that's that's definitely one thing I've learned about myself that that that many people might may find surprising about intrograms.

David Hall [00:40:51]:
Yeah. And it's funny that you say that because she is at least one person that doesn't drain me, but I get energy from. Now if she was here, I don't know if she would say I didn't drain her. I'm not sure about that. But but that's that's the thing. It's like, it's not it's we can get energy with the right conversations and the right people. It's when we're in spaces that, you know, we're try straining to think about things and, you know, we're not being able to think. And, also also, we love conversation, but we wanna go deep.

David Hall [00:41:27]:
We don't wanna stay in the shallow for too long. That's what's draining is when we're in the shallow and talking about the weather or whatever, and and it's just going on and on and on where we wanna get to deep kind of topics that are interesting to us.

Richard Etienne [00:41:41]:
See, it goes back to that patience, David. I was like, we have a bit of a conversation. Yeah. Yeah. For

David Hall [00:41:48]:
sure. Richard, this has been a wonderful conversation. Is there anything else that you wanna add today?

Richard Etienne [00:41:53]:
Uh-huh. Wow. Thank you, David, first of all. It really has. I I really am enjoying this. And but I want to add, I think I would like to speak to the younger introverts that are listening in and those who feel that they need to change themselves or the way they behave in order to get to that place that they desire. And I would say to them, don't try to be anyone else. Just be you.

Richard Etienne [00:42:22]:
Be authentic. Do the the hard work that you know you were going to do because if you are passionate, dedicated, and patient, it will be yours.

David Hall [00:42:34]:
Yeah. Well said. Well said. Be authentic. Don't try to fake anything. I I definitely did that for far too long. So, yes, start younger, getting people to understand who they are and how to be their authentic selves, bring their gifts to the world. I love that.

Richard Etienne [00:42:52]:
Thank you.

David Hall [00:42:54]:
And, of course, Richard, where can people find out more about the work you do?

Richard Etienne [00:42:58]:
Indeed. So, yeah, if you head over to the introvertspace.com, you'll find all of the resources that I mentioned earlier. Also, if you just look me up on LinkedIn, which that's the end, I should be the first one after all the stuff I've been saying. And, yeah, feel free to reach out to me and and, yeah, let's let's get talking.

David Hall [00:43:19]:
Alright. Thanks again.

Richard Etienne [00:43:20]:
Thanks, David.

Richard Etienne [00:43:22]:
Thank you so much for joining me. I appreciate you. I hope you take the time to explore other episodes and learn from other amazing guests. Remember, if you're interested in getting to know yourself better, there is now a free Typefinder personality assessment on the Quiet and Strong website. This free assessment will give you a brief report, including the four letter Myers Briggs code. I'll add a link in the show notes. And I'd love to connect with you. Reach out at david@quietandstrong.com or check out the quietandstrong.com website, which includes blog posts and links to social media for Quiet and Strong and much more.

Richard Etienne [00:43:58]:
Send me topics or guests you would like to see on the show. So many great things about being an introvert, and so we need those to be understood. Get to know your introverted strengths and needs, and be strong.