Sometimes I find myself working with very shy clients and customers who in time become more open with me concerning their thoughts as well as the happenings in their lives. One thing I’ve noticed over these long years of working with these types of people is that once you get past their crippling shyness, you often find truly genuine people who share their thoughts openly without having some sort of hidden agenda or chronic case of narcissism. I do find it quite annoying after a while listening to people cock-a-doodle-doing on and on about themselves. You’re left wondering how anyone could ever be so perfect in every way. On the flip side of humanity, we find many of those crippled with shyness getting shorted when opportunities of advancement and recognition are given to those who seem to talk the most and oft times the loudest.
There’s a person who’s retired now whom I continually found a bit annoying because whenever I was around this person in a group, the voice could be heard above above many, and for some magical reason, the matching face would nearly always be in the very center of a photo being taken of the gatherings.
A very shy past customer whom I sold a home to some years ago mentioned to me once how he felt neglected by his superiors whenever an opportunity for advancement in his work would be posted. He knew his shyness was part of the problem, but he also went on to say that the buddy system with management had too much sway in job promotion and placement. I was in total agreement with him because I’d seen it happen many times before. I remember smiling to him and saying, “If you don’t want to be a buddy then be the absolute best you can be and then you’ll have to be noticed.” I have also found that many of the shy people have great depths of intelligence and know-how. Unfortunately, if you don’t ask them about their abilities, they likely won’t tell.
Shy people can also come up with some of the most laughable remarks once they get to know you. I was at a meeting yesterday and happened to be seated next to a very old and still a bit shy woman who suddenly turned and whispered to me while pointing, “See that guy? Don’t you think he looks like the devil?” I almost blurted out a laugh but contained myself and simply turned to her and whispered, “Perhaps one of his imps.” Yes, that was one more confirmation that when you can get shy people to speak, they normally speak their minds to the point of being brutally honest. On this gray Sunday evening I wish for every shy person in the world to rise up from their silence and make themselves heard for at least a moment or two and then perhaps they will be on the road to sharing their knowledge as well as their brutal truths. Sounds refreshing to me; how about you?
