Hi there,

First of all, recognize that being an introvert isn't a weakness or flaw by any stretch of the imagination! You don't have to be an extrovert to thrive in consulting (sales? Maybe more so).

Learn to play to your strengths and mitigate your weaknesses.

“Feeling awkward” is honestly just part of the job. You're constantly thrown into new projects with new clients/people on topics you don't know much about.

You've identified the problem, so now just consciously/actively work towards resolving it.

Throw yourself into those uncomfortable situations. Embrace the awkwardness. Reach out to help from your boss/coworkers for tips.

This is part of the learning process - and we don't learn if we don't try and put ourselves out there.

I have historically been a horrible public speaker. I get extremely nervous, flustered, etc. What did I do to fix it? I took 3 classes during my MBA where they forced us to present to large groups every single week. Does it still scare me? You bet! Does that affect me? Not in slightest (not anymore)!

Hi,

That's okay. There are many introverted consultants who are successful. And not just consulting they are in many other professions.

Make a mark for yourself by producing high quality work in all areas- client work, emails, interaction with colleagues etc. Dont put pressure on yourself too much by the “need to be out there" or comparing yourself to others too much. 

But at the same time, please come out of your comfort zone and push yourself a bit here. You cant get away by being behind the scenes or hidden or not visible. Consulting world wont be kind to you and that's the honest truth. Start small and grow from there.

Are you an introvert or are you shy? These are different things. 

An introvert enjoys time alone and gets drained after spending a lot of time with others. They then need alone time to recover. An extrovert is the opposite: draws energy from being with others, but get drained if they need to be alone for a long time.

A shy person doesn't necessarily want to be alone but is afraid to interact with others, i.e, has social anxiety. This is not the same as introversion. You actually have a lot of shy extroverts (i.e., they crave being in social settings, but have being the center of attention). Of course, if you add introversion to social anxiety, then you are at a tougher spot.

You can survive perfectly as an introvert or extrovert, but the type of projects can have differing impact on your energy levels. For example, a project that requires meeting after meeting will be exhausting an introvert. Please notice they can perfectly do the job, it is just exhausting. For extroverts, having to perform a lot of analysis / slide editing on their own for days in a row would be equaly exhausting, as extroverts crave a bit more interaction.

Someone who has social anxiety has a different type of problem. Consulting is hard for them because they will be increasingly on the spot as their career progresses and many types of projects require a significant number of meetings. So while they may do well in projects requiring a lot of analysis and research, they will struggle with implementation projects, for example. They will perform worse in workshops, in client meetings, in presentations.

Can they survive consulting? Sure they can. But here's the secret: only if they want to. I.e., one needs to want to overcome their own social anxiety and embrace the need and the opportunities to improve. Yes, you can improve through exposure.

If you take it a as challenge and are willing to increasingly put yourself out there, you will change your comfort zone into types of settings that are a bit more demanding. Sure, you may never really enjoy presenting to large audiences, or may feel uncomfortable if you need to change to a new client every quarter - but growing into feeling comfortable in presenting in workshops, having client, meetings, etc., is perfectly doable. But for that to happen, you need to consciously decide to embrace the need to put yourself out there in those situations.