Recently I was having a conversation at a wedding supplier colleague brunch, about being an introverted person in business. So it got me thinking about do you need your suppliers servicing your wedding to be bubbly outgoing people?
When I was younger, I was always told to speak up or be more talkative. And there I was thinking I am speaking at the top of my voice, and nobody can hear me! Boo! It was only later in life after doing the Myers Briggs questionnaire and other personal development stuff, that I realised that I was introverted and it was ok to be a bit quiet! Introverts draw strength from their inner world, and extroverts draw strength from the external world and there is no shame in that. But what benefits do quiet introverts bring to the table?
One of my previous brides picked me because she felt that she ‘knew’ the people she saw in my portfolio. Obviously she didn’t, but what she was noticing whilst looking at my pictures was my observations of people. In taking the Myers Briggs personality test, my results peg me (out of the possible 16 personality types) as an INFJ. Some of the traits of the INFJ are being committed, holistic, creative and empathetic. This means that I am a patient observer of people, trying to tell their stories. Just like in a conversation, where I would want to find out more about the other person, what are their interests and what makes them tick. This adds to the way I like to shoot, in the background photographing the wedding day as it happens but trying to bring out the different narratives of all the people involved.
Introverted people – especially INFJs bring quiet friendly warmth and “unflappableness” (as my ex-colleague once said!) to any wedding day. They are nuanced in being insightful, highly intuitive and sensitive to any familial disagreements that may be unconsciously bubbling under the surface. They are a helpful hand and a quieter of last minute nerves before you get married! INFJs are people orientated, working with integrity so you can trust them to treat your wedding day as if it was their own.
Plus they are not good at cheesy jokes!
So to conclude, both extroverted and introverted wedding suppliers bring their unique gifts and personalities to a wedding day, neither one is better than the other – but don’t be shy of the shy!
