Empowering career search and enrichment

Written by Catherine Rains

Continuing with last month's series on tailoring our career counseling strategies according the preferences of our client, here are some suggestions for working with students who prefer Introversion (read our series on counseling strategies for students who prefer Extraversion):  

Speak in a calm, slow, quiet tone.  Seems obvious, but not so easy if your preference is for Extraversion, where it is natural to speak fast and in a higher volume.  Matching the tone of our client from the very beginning will make our Introverted preference students relax into the appointment earlier in the process. 

Do not interrupt or interject as your student is talking.  For someone who prefers Introversion, interruptions, even though well intended, are often interpreted as rude behavior.  Counselors who prefer Extroversion view interrupting as a sign of showing interest and engagement with the client, but is often perceived as the exact opposite.  Waiting until the student completes their sentence will go a long way in setting a supportive tone for a session.

In the next few weeks, I will share more strategies. Stay tuned! 

Read Part 2 here.
Read Part 3 here.

Today I will be wrapping up the discussion from our last two posts, Part 1 and Part 2, about how to work most effectively with students who have a preference for extroversion:

One last thing – what happens when a counselor who prefers Introversion works with a student who prefers Extroversion?  I often hear from my Introverted preference colleagues that one of their talents as a counselor is the ability to listen really well, which means they will end up talking much less than their client.  But to an Extroverted preference student, listening means you are actively engaging them in conversation.  Silence is experienced by the client as disinterest, judgment, or daydreaming. 

So what have I missed?  Please share your suggestions for what has worked for you when working with students who prefer Extroversion.  Next week we’ll talk about how to effective work with students who prefer Introversion.