8 Signs To Know If You Are An Outgoing Introvert

We all know what being outgoing is, right? It is the type of person who throws caution to the wind in social situations. Putting themselves all in, and all out there, they will be the first ones to introduce themselves, to walk up to a stranger and just start talking. And maybe they even crave being the center of attention.

The opposite of outgoing would be what most people think of as the introvert. Stereotypically, an introverted person is someone who avoids social situations and feels uncomfortable in large crowds. They know pretty much all the people they want to, and if they need another friend, they will certainly write you a letter and let you know.

So, how can it be that there is such thing as an outgoing introvert? Isn’t that pretty much the definition of an oxymoron? Like civil war, crash landing, or a deafening silence, the two words just don’t seem to work together.

# People think you are an extrovert, but you don’t feel like it

Outgoing introverts are often misunderstood to be extroverts. On the exterior, an extrovert and an outgoing introvert behave in the same manner. But, on the inside, they view the world in very different ways.
Extroverts are people who focus on things outside of themselves while introverts are mostly in their heads. Although being outgoing, an outgoing introvert is still thinking about themselves even when engaging with others.

# You don’t like malls, concerts, or large venues

An outgoing introvert is someone who is very internal but still works hard to be outgoing. That can lead to disaster in highly populated or very large venues or events.

They are already overwhelmed by their conflict of being introverted with the desire to reach out, so the rest of the situation is just overwhelming noise that makes it close to miserable.

# You can’t stand small talk

You want to engage with people and like to have deep talks, but absolutely can’t stand the idle chit-chat that has to come first. If this sounds like you, then you just may be an outgoing introvert.

Introverts consider extroverts nothing short of little attention whores. They view them as not having anything to say that has any meaning besides a means to “look at me.” If you like to talk to people, but have very few times that you make it underneath the surface and enjoy it, then you may be an outgoing introvert.

# You are only social when you want to be

If you are someone who can walk into a party one time and be a wallflower, but other times find the scene intriguing and want to be social, then you may just be an outgoing introvert.

Introverted people have a tendency to be anti-social. You, on the other hand, like to be social, but only when you want to. That makes you selectively social.

# Sometimes you feel like someone turned the mic on

If you leave a social situation sometimes feeling like you just did your comedy skit, and you killed it, then you may be an outgoing introvert.

Someone who is introverted doesn’t ever want to entertain a crowd, while an extrovert is all about entertaining a crowd all the time. So they wouldn’t notice if they were engaging or not. Someone in between the two can sometimes turn on the charm, and notice when they were entertaining.

# You like controlled social situations

It isn’t as if you don’t want to talk to people, you just don’t want to be thrust into it. Liking to share your life and to hear about the real life of others, you just need some time to warm up.

A quiet get-together is the perfectly controlled place to show your outgoing side while still maintaining your introverted nature.

# You take on the energy of the situation

If you find that your ability to interact with other people depends on the crowd of people that you are with or the energy of the room, then you are feeding off of other cues outside of yourself. That is an outgoing characteristic.

When your batteries are full, you want to be outgoing, but after a little bit, it is like someone took all your charge. You then become annoyed by the energy it takes to talk to other people and have a tendency to withdraw and just want to be alone.

# People both intrigue and exhaust you

You find having meaningful conversation exhilarating, and when the conditions are right, you are all about being in the mix.

Although intriguing to you, it takes you a lot of energy to make idle talk to get to the real crux of the matter. Afterward, all that wasted energy has you not wanting to do it anytime soon.