An introverts guide to getting information
Years ago it was obvious I was the ultimate introvert. Every time I had to meet or talk to new people I had an anxiety attack. I would worry for days before, think up scenarios that obviously wouldn’t happen, when I did talk to them my side of the conversation was pretty much non-existent. And if the subject of money came up… I hate to even remember it (I ended up doing way too much for free).
It got to the stage where I had to do something about it. I could do the work, but the people side of things broke me. So I came up with a few simple plans, depending what situation I was about to face.
Templates
If you’ve been following my newsletter for a while you’ll notice I write out templates you can use to ask for information. Most people think, and I often mention, it’s because it makes things quick and efficient.
It’s also because it means I don’t have to think ‘how do I ask that person for what I need?’ The template is there, I don’t need to work out the little banter like asking about their day, or if I should say ‘Hi’ or ‘Good morning’. It’s all worked out.
Pretend someone else is doing it
This tool helped me a lot when I started working for myself and had to send invoices to clients. I set up a separate email address and signed it off from my Accounts Team. Sure, I was the accounts team, I worked solo but it gave me the mental distance to be able to send an invoice/ask for money without having anxiety attacks every time.
Quick messages
A lot of information I find to publish is from Facebook posts. I have another template that’s short and to the point asking if I can use what they’ve posted in the upcoming newsletter. Often my messages with people are just this request, their response and my thank you. Having that short and consistent conversation that I send multiple times a week to the same people has helped lessen my anxiety around that process.
If you are becoming anxious or stressed about one area of running your newsletter, sit down and figure out exactly what it is that triggers your reaction. Then take some time, to think through small changes you can make that would help reduce or eliminate the issue.