You're listening to Life Kit from NPR.

Hey, it's Mariel.

Reporter Yo-Wei Shah is an introvert who loves her extroverted friends.

She wants to make that clear.

There's just one problem.

Sometimes the energy is off.

The other week, I was hanging out with an extroverted friend who I love dearly,

and I felt pressure to match their energy, which I obviously didn't succeed at. And after the hang,

I was like, what just happened? Why does hanging out with this person I love feel so bad? I bet it wasn't fun for

them. While there isn't one agreed upon definition, generally extroverse tend to be more

talkative, outgoing, energetic, and really into socializing, and introverts tend to be more

introspective, quiet, deliberate, and really into

alone time. But this is a spectrum, not a binary, and many of us fall somewhere in between the two.

The thing is, there are a lot of people along this continuum who just don't quite get each other.

And it's like really awkward to talk about because it feels like you're saying

essentially, I love you, but I'm having a hard time with your personality. Like that's, that's a

harsh thing to say to a friend. Yo-way is the host of the podcast proxy, where she uses her

reporting skills to investigate exactly these kinds of emotional conundrums. podcast proxy, where she uses her reporting skills to investigate exactly

these kinds of emotional conundrums. On proxy, she connects people with a proxy, a stranger with

relevant experience with their issue and none of the personal baggage. On this episode of

Life Kit, Yo-Wea talks out her issues with a proxy, an extreme extrovert, calls herself an introvert ally and has made it part of her life's work to help introverts and extroverts create strong partnerships at work.

You'll hear about the common complaints each camp has about the other and get practical advice on how to have a better time and be better friends with people on the other side of the

...