Meeting Support Institute

Research Idea: Introverts and extraverts Marti Olsen Laney describes in her book The introvert advantage the differences between introverts and extraverts. Research needed about how meetings and conferences can be designed to cater for introverts as well as extraverts. Introverts form about 25% of the general population but depending on the industry your conference is held in, they could be a majority. Extraverts are easy in networking and dominant in learning: they will use the microphone during Q&A. The smartest questions, from the good listeners and deep thinkers that introverts are, don’t get to the floor. In learning, networking and motivation, both react quit differently and catering to both types may be a powerful enrichment to any meeting or conference. What exactly are these differences and how do they influence an individual’s process at conferences? What can a meeting organiser do to support both?