Bay View Theater, Pier 27 in San Francisco

The words “expressive” and “introvert” aren’t commonly paired together in people’s minds. In fact, they often don’t even often show up in the same sentence. “Expressive” is stereotypically associated with extroverts and stylistically associated with an animated, emotionally compelling style of communication. If we take the stereotype even further, most people think introverts are good at writing and extroverts are good at speaking. “Expressive introverts” is almost an oxymoron. Design is one of the professions that commonly attracts introverts but requires them to be expressive and compelling – whether that be communicating their ideas, explaining their concepts, speaking up for their choices, being an advocate for their designs, negotiating with clients or recommending compelling courses of action. The future of design is dependent on expressive introverts. This talk looks at the general bias against introverted styles of communication as well as the challenges that introverts self describe in relation to expressing themselves out loud. It offers conceptual and practical solutions for reframing the whole “introvert vs. extrovert” concept so that introverts can clearly understand the merits of their communication style and learn how to leverage them advantageously. It offers practical tools to help introverts successfully self represent out into the world and teaches them not only ways to pull from their inherent natural ability but also identifies specific steps for skill elevation. The talk is followed by a “putting it in practice” workshop on June 20th where participants explore these concepts with easy, actionable tools in a “hands on” two-hour workshop. Fonta is a communication teacher here in San Francisco. Her work covers all aspects of communication – body language, voice, speech, content treatment and listening skills. Her work helps people feel confident about how they self represent out into the world, ensuring that they develop both their logical (IQ) and emotional communication (EQ) ability. In addition to leadership training, she also teaches formal communication training like public speaking and media training as well as other high stakes communication like negotiation, diplomacy and mediation training. Her research looks at pre and post smart phone communication and the impact that personal devices are having on our interpersonal ability. 100% of the ticket sale proceeds for this event are graciously donated back to SF Design Week to help cover costs of the venue. SF Design Week is produced by AIGA SF, a 501(3)c non-profit organization.