Speech Script: Being an Introvert

Hey, Guys. I thought I'll share another speech script today. I used this script when I was competing in a competition held by a Senior High in Bantul, Yogyakarta Special Area. I got 1st in that competition so I think this one is pretty good. And I also wanna say that in this speech script I slipped in a little personal story of mine. So it's gonna be a little hard if you're going to copy it haha... So here you go.

I’ve always felt that I’m different compared to most people. At least compared to most students in my school. On break time, they like to gather in groups and gossip about someone or chat about the current trends. I prefer not to. If I necessarily have to get involved in a group chat outside my class, I always try not to do the unnecessary. Not to talk too much. Some people say that I’m shy and weird. Some even say I’m arrogant and antisocial. The truth is, I’m an “introvert”. So ladies and gentlemen, the honourable judges, and my fellow competitors, this morning I’d like to deliver a speech with the “social” theme entitled “Being an Introvert”. But wait… What is “introversion”?

          According to the Oxford Dictionaries, an introvert is a person predominantly concerned with their own thoughts and feelings rather than with the external things. So basically introverts are the kind of people that gain energy through solitary activities like reading books, playing video games, hiking, listening to music, etc. Whereas its counterpart, an extrovert, is a person predominantly concerned with external things or objective considerations. Extroverts tend to enjoy human interactions and to be enthusiastic, talkative, assertive, and gregarious.

          “But does it matter that much? It’s just some psychological personality type thingy. How would it be able to effect someone’s social life so much?” We live in a world where most of its people are extroverts. So sometimes, introverts are forced to live in the extroverts’ way. They study in a class that consists of too many students, work in countless group tasks, live in a noisy and loud environment, etc. So most of the time, they feel insecure because they’re out of their comfort zone. They begin to demand quietness, so they start to avoid conversations, walk alone, and listen to music in the crowd, and so on. People who don’t know about this would have got the wrong idea and could easily mistake introverts to arrogant, shy, anti-social, or even psychopathic individuals. In my opinion, as an introvert myself, that feels incredibly uncomfortable.

          I want to tell you one of my experiences in this matter. So year-7 (or grade 7) was the hardest year for me. I graduated from a private primary school and decided to continue my studies in a public school. It turned out to be incredibly tough. The people there are so different compared to the people I use to encounter every day at primary school. Especially their mind-set. But eventually I got through those tough days. Even though I wasn’t feeling comfortable most of the time and I spent a lot of time on my own throughout the year.

          On year-8, a best friend of mine, a girl, said that I was acting really weird for the past year. She said that people started to think I’m arrogant, weird, shy, antisocial, and so on, and so on. In the end, she said that if I don’t “change”, people will start to avoid me and just pull away from me. This was indeed a serious matter to me. Of course I couldn’t just magically become an extrovert. In fact I couldn’t at all. So what can I do? What am I supposed to do?

          At that time, this best friend of mine sort of agreed to help me “change” (somehow). We had lots of talks. It took a long time. But in the end I was considered “better”. People began thinking that I'm more open now. More social. So what just happened? Did I just magically turn into an extrovert? No, not at all. I did act a little more if not more extroverted than before. But again it didn't happen magically. It took me a lot of time and effort. But I have to tell you, this “change” of mine comes with a cost. Every time I go home from school I usually go to my room and listen to music, surf the internet, or simply take a nap. I needed to recharge. I needed to do my introverted thingies. I needed to distance myself away. So what we can all learn from that is once you’re an introvert, you’re always an introvert.

          So at the end of this speech, I urge you to open up your minds and change your perspectives. This horrible stigma of introverts has to be cleared out (because honestly it’s annoying beyond measure). We are not anti-social people. We don’t have social anxiety. We can socialize with others just like any other people. But in a quite different way compared to extroverts. So if you have an introvert friend who you think is a “freak”, try approaching him/her (not in the same as you approach extroverts of course). You need to understand them and don’t push them if they really aren't in the mood to “socialize” at that time. And I’d also like to share a fact that there are lots of introverts who became incredible people. For example, Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, J. K. Rowling, William Shakespeare, and I reckon many more. So, at last, I leave you with this quote from Susan Cain the author of the book “Quiet”. She said, “Don't think of introversion as something that needs to be cured...Spend your free the way you like, not the way you think you're supposed to.” Thank you.