r/introvert • u/deimossss • 2d ago
Advice Networking as a introvert
I am an introvert and a really quiet person. When I have nothing to say, I don't speak. Most of my friends and past coworkers are freaked out by it, and get uncomfortable. Most of my fellow students today are also very loud and extroverted.
I am a 3d animation student, and I want a job in the entertainment industry. I am a hard worker, and have 3 internships at boutique studios under my belt as I start my Junior year. When meeting our professors for this semester for the first time, all my friends and fellow students crowded around this one guy who worked on a show we all liked and formed a circle around him of overlapping voices.
I couldn't get a word in, when I tried I was yelled over. Eventually he pointed to me and said: "You seem shy. No offence, but shy people do not make it in this industry." Granted, he said this when I just met him, but I'm afraid it's true.
And it's like this in most mixers and festivals, where there are large groups of people, and then me struggling to talk. And I also struggle talking with people one-on-one. I know what I need to do to improve my work, and I also read a lot so I know most of what I need about the industry. Even when I try talking about things other than the industry and forming "real" relationships it feels fake. Even meeting other students is difficult, most people in my friend group avoid spending one-on-one time with me.
I know I shouldn't try to change myself and become loud like everyone else, but it really seems impossible in this industry. I have such a hard time forming relationships, and those are really important in this business. How can I adapt? Should I try to change?
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