Turning Off Your Ti

[flow]

I feel like this is one of our great struggles as INTPs. Being that we're always at a state of thinking, it's hard to talk to other people from time to time. We have to turn off our Ti to a certain extent in order to respond and interact with them in a timely manner.. thus the need for Ne. Anyways, I find that when I'm at work I try to almost completely turn off my Ti and just use my Ne (I work in a restaurant, an extremely extroverted environment). I actually see each of these functions as personalities: Ti (brian) and Ne (bk). I guess my family best knows brian, but my friends and coworkers know bk. Of course, here you guys know me as flow (which is probably my attempt at Fi)..

Anyways, do you struggle to turn off your Ti?

SIDETRACK:
I actually feel like I'm getting to the root of my fear of public speaking. I'm always nervous that I won't be able to get out of Ti when I most need to. It's just the fear that I 'can't' use my Ti for this time period, be it 2 minutes or 10. I can't just comfortably think in front of a crowd. Why can't I effortlessly turn off my Ti in this situation?! WHYYY!?

 

[Trebuchet]

I actually feel like I'm getting to the root of my fear of public speaking. I'm always nervous that I won't be able to get out of Ti when I most need to. It's just the fear that I 'can't' use my Ti for this time period, be it 2 minutes or 10. I can't just comfortably think in front of a crowd. Why can't I effortlessly turn off my Ti in this situation?! WHYYY!?

I don't know. I was like that too, until I was sick of it. I started volunteering to be first for oral reports, signed up for drama, and forced myself. I still feared and hated it. Then one day, I was giving an oral report, and suddenly I realized that I loved it. It was effortless, and fun. I won't say I never get nervous now, but for the last 30+ years I've enjoyed public speaking. So I would say, "keep trying." Maybe it will never be fun, but it does get easier with practice.

I don't think I turn off Ti for this. I think I find a way to use it. I'm one of the forum denizens who isn't too knowledgable about the cognitive functions. So I know I'm going to get this wrong. Isn't Ti the function that lets us build models in our heads, and refine them? That is so useful in public speaking. Really, I don't think Ti has much to do with the fear. Public speaking is one of the most common fears, and affects every personality type. Suffering with such fear can be a horrible experience, to be sure, but it isn't an INTP thing particularly.

One of the most common problems is being afraid to stop and think, while speaking. The silence (which might be unnoticeable to the audience) seems to last about a month or so. I'm not sure people in general are able to think clearly while speaking. But experienced public speakers learn to be comfortable pausing to think. Let the audience wait a few seconds.

 

[Words]

I am not very familiar with what functions are and what Jung entirely means but I see a lot of assumptions here.

I actually see each of these functions as personalities

I recommend not seeing the system in a transitional way but in a cooperative framework. So I guess different "displayed personalities(funny, silent etc.)" are combos of different levels of cognitive functioning?

I think we need more knowledge of concise and specific limitations of what functions are. My understanding is that we have subconscious inclinations towards certain ways of recognizing the world and the self. The "ways" are the functions. The functions are divided into Perceiving and Judging. The orientations of P or J functions, whether a function is oriented by the object(Extroverted) or strives to be independent from it(Introverted), also forms a division. Then we have T F S N. Perhaps the whole idea's originating concept is that thinking can be neatly divided into perception and judgement? And then subconscious inclination to different cognitive approaches defines temperament. But obviously, this is only from a limited and possible learned false Jungian fact.

 

[EyeSeeCold]

I had to do a senior presentation in high school. I feared that I wouldn't be able to remember what I was going to say and just totally blank out. On the contrary, I didn't want to shut up.

During conversations the biggest problem you will have is forgetting a couple of things that you wanted to say. My advice is to speak slowly to give yourself a chance to think before your sentence is over. That way you don't seem rushed and you'll be able to select the right words.

When it comes to being in the spotlight, you will notice the audience unless you are able to get in the zone. If you can find some way to become enthusiastic about your topic it will do wonders for forgetting that you are being watched.

 

[Yasmin]

I actually feel like I'm getting to the root of my fear of public speaking. I'm always nervous that I won't be able to get out of Ti when I most need to. It's just the fear that I 'can't' use my Ti for this time period, be it 2 minutes or 10. I can't just comfortably think in front of a crowd. Why can't I effortlessly turn off my Ti in this situation?! WHYYY!?

I actually have quite the opposite reaction to public speaking. Although my experience with it is limited (single class room size, with a non-memorized script), I do quite well, especially compared to most people, seeing as stage fright is so incredibly common. I may not be entirely confident, and maybe even a little shaky, but I do an adequate job of hiding that. I might even enjoy it.

For me, it's very much a way to us my Ti. In any regular crowd, or even a classroom of twenty kids talking at the same time, I find it difficult to maintain any complicated use of my introverted functions because I'm focusing so much energy on creating a barrier between myself and all the chaos.

In the case of a presentation, the room is suddenly quiet, and not only am I given the opportunity to use my Ti again, but I also have the ability to articulate my thoughts effectively to an audience, which can be quite rewarding.

I'm essentially thinking the same things I would when alone, but one step further into saying it out loud.

 

[bloozie]

Oh man, if any of you guys ever caught me speaking in a presentation, you would probably wonder if I had way too much coffee to drink beforehand. My thoughts end up jumping all over the place and so does anything that I manage to speak about during that time. Essentially I'll start at point A..go to B... jump to F...M...H...jump back to B... and so on. I usually have to stop and ask if people understood what I just said. Also, I end up saying jokes related to what I'm talking about... Oftentimes, these jokes are random but still hold merit to what I'm saying. In the end though, I find that I do well in presentations when I'm at least able to make my audience laugh and smile because that's when my nervousness starts to go away.

 

[bumsyspin]

I just learned to streamline it into Ne/Fe.

 

[snafupants]

sleep deprivation works to quell my anxiety before a speech; which is usually guaranteed as next day speeches = poor sleep, stress, and last second preparation. it would be extremely difficult to throw me off during a speech, but you probably could if it was your sole focus. being on a stage is a weird comfort, invincibility, exhilaration, and an immersing feeling of control. trivial questions are rephrased to be more intellectually engaging, stupid questions are disregarded outright, and humorous questions or comments are met with bellowing laughter. stupid quetions might also be met with laughter on occasion. if you see me giving a speech, that probably means the area has been thoroughly researched - you better have an insightful question.

with mbti, the tertiary function and inferior function are disregarded completely until the q and a session. the former can be ignored because the research has already been accomplished and my speech is prepared beforehand for the most part; any extemporaneous parts are easily navigated. the latter can be ignored during a speech as well because the crux of the material is research - cold and hard - and has little to do with feelings. you have to be a human being for the q and a, so all bets are off for extinguishing the inferior function for that and, of course, to answer effectively the tertiary function likewise has to be reactivated.