Is it awkward when you have a very quiet and shy person on your team at work?

4 comments

1. Not at all. A good team is made up of diverse people. So long as you do your job well and contribute when required to it’s all good.

2. It does not make **me** feel awkward, but it does make me worry that the quiet person is being made to feel awkward, uncomfortable, or left out of the group if it is made up of super talkative people. So, actually, I guess in a way it sort of does makes me feel awkward on the other person’s behalf?

   Still, I don’t think I would feel this way at all if the person’s body language indicated they were comfortable – seated or standing loosely (not tense or hunched in), being an active listener in the conversation (making eye contact, facing towards people, nodding or shaking their head with people’s points), and relaxed facial expressions (not actively looking stressed, anxious, or uncomfortable).

   I think the bottom line is that as long as the shy and quiet person seems comfortable and OK, I would not feel awkward at all.

   I would only feel awkward if the shy and quiet person seemed uncomfortable or something, and then I would only feel that way because I would want to help make them feel more comfortable and relaxed.

3. I always want to involve those people in the conversation because of suspicions they have some great ideas or know some really important things because they spend less time talking b.s., but I sometimes do get worried that they may really hate it if I put them on the spot. For some I feel like it’s easier to just separately ask them for their thoughts (or maybe encourage someone closer to them or who they’re more comfortable with to help that person’s thoughts be heard).

4. If they seem receptive to your input then it should not be a problem. They should understand that some are more introverted.