I’m back after Realm Makers (well almost). I’m in Las Vegas nursing a Realm Makers and too much food at the Paris buffet hangover.
This was my third Realm Makers and my focus was on coordinating volunteers (my official role), pitching, mentoring appointments, and catching up with my people.
On the surface, I’m the bubbly and talkative extroverted unicorn in a world of introverts. I’m aware of my tendencies, so I made an effort (that ended up being effortless) to step back and let others talk.
This made my conference! I had multiple conversations where I really got to know my fellow Realmies in a way that brings them closer to me. I loved learning so many new things from hearing an authentic account of multicultural identity, details about a teen-made (RM attendees) YouTube channel my kids will love, and got to know some people on a deeper level and prayed with a few of them.
Of course, not every interaction was like this. I am a work in progress. But by trying to listen to others, I benefited in an unforeseen way. Normally, I leave an event feeling drained from being “on” for several days. Not this time.
The New Authors Fellowship 
AS an introvert, I appreciate extroverts’ ability to keep conversations going. Put enough introverts together, and we’ll just sit quietly. ;D
My joke about introverts is, “I will make you talk” (spoken in vaguely accented villain voice). I’ve also been known to chatter to entertain introverts. And being something of an ambivert, I can retreat into quiet.