What INTJs like to talk about may surprise you.
It would be unfair to suggest that all individuals with similar personality types think and talk alike.
To determine what INTJs like to talk about is founded on their ambition, environmental influences, and insecurities.
These early environmental influences were often negative that preyed on INTJs’ insecurities.
As a result, these disempowered INTJs became committed to proving to the world that they are and have always been valuable.
In this vein, ambitious INTJs like to talk about ideas that distinguish them in a particular specialty, which increases their power and influence.
Their lives are reminiscent of social scientists who consistently operate within self-created laboratories that use accumulated facts and data to measure against the qualitative aspects of human behavior.
INTJs develop hypotheses and theorems that serve as constructs for self-determination from these ongoing experiments.
These high-level frameworks are the basis for great INTJ conversations.
And enlightened INTJs are not trying to change the world but assist like-minded individuals in joining their intellectual army.
In the end, enlightened INTJs are trying to create a world inside of a world.
And while they can be wrong, they have done all they could to be right.
Commentator Chris Vaughn responded to a forum question on Quora, which asked, “Why is it so hard for an INTJ to admit that they’re wrong?” by saying:
Why? Because in my mind, I know I saw everything from far more perspectives than most people can consider. I weighed the positives against the negatives. I questioned the contingencies, evaluated the potential variables, played out every conceivable scenario… and then I made a decision. And then I made a plan. And then I did everything in my control to stay on track, moving forward towards completing each step and fulfilling my obligations towards reaching that objective.
Vaughn’s explanation of an INTJ’s mindset resonated with me in visceral ways.
In many of my online blogs and videos, I turn off the comment section because I don’t want to hear from people who have not invested the time and energy to research, analyze, and synthesize any opposition to my work at the level it took to produce it.
“It’s just my opinion” has little value in my life or the lives of INTJs who echo my sentiments.
Consequently, I like to talk with like-minded individuals who not only put in the work but bring a wealth of life experiences to the conversation.
I made a mistake recently of engaging in a series of conversations with a colleague.
Because he had spent time in academia and seemed to be versed in many subjects, I thought we were kindred spirits.
However, as time passed, I realized that this person liked to play with hypotheses, ideas, and philosophies but had no intention of creating any substantial body of work.
He was all talk.
I would never have allowed him within my intellectual space if he had not shown a propensity for intellectualism.
Building on the sentiments of Chris Vaughn, I am creating an academic empire and encouraging introverts to use their curiosity, insightfulness, and research to develop transformative intellectual property.
It is not enough for us to merely read, write, and spend much time in solitude. We must create solution-based content that offsets the influence of the entertainment industrial complex.
How do you start a conversation with an INTJ?
INTJs are versed in being civil to strangers, so merely saying “Hello” can start a conversation.
However, as INTJs age, their vetting process becomes more advanced. In this vein, INTJs can become skeptical about the motives of strangers.
An INTJ’s inner dialogue might say:
“What does this person want?”
“Why are they asking so many questions?”
“What are they up to?”
Mature INTJs don’t believe that people are so nice that they begin long conversations without some hidden agenda.
Any act anyone does has a motive attached to it.
“I’m just being friendly” doesn’t cut it.
INTJs can be intellectual snobs and dismissive to strangers who desire more than superficial respectability. Also, the command of the English language in English-speaking countries is essential.
Any evidence that the person lacks primary education or a respectable level of intellectualism is a red flag because of INTJs value education.
The essentials with starting a conversation with INTJs is all about time and place.
A symposium, bookstore, or museum are optimal locations for starting a discussion.
The focal point of these venues is fodder for engaging dialogue.
As for time, it is better to engage INTJs as they enjoy the intellectual stimulation of the environment instead of when they are prepared to leave.
Again, they will be cordial, but their body language speaks volumes.
And in this case, attempting to overcome resistance or objections to leaving is futile.
For many, attempting to understand the hardwiring of INTJs might require profound deconstruction.
INTJs share the same life experiences as other personality types, but how these experiences shape them can be dramatically different.
And the core is their hypersensitivity. Their receptors seem to be turned up to a high frequency.
Consequently, as observers, a minor disagreement on the playground in the second grade will be another addition to their worldview as mature adults.
Most people would have forgotten this infraction. For INTJs, an insult that happened 50 years ago can be as visceral as if it occurred yesterday.
These are all the components that shape the range and scope of what INTJs are interested in and are willing to talk about.
Do they ever turn off this relentless quest for understanding and intellectual mastery?
Never.
Turning off their minds might be a slippery slope to reliving a disempowered life experienced early.
The need for control suggests that life would have been different if they knew what they know now back then.
They never leave the field of ideas first encountered as children. They merely expanded their playground and now have the power to allow who gets invited.
And if you haven’t been invited, it is futile to attempt to gain entry.
Because people can be intrusive, many INTJ conversations add up to “Hello” and “Goodbye.”
And don’t be surprised if you fall into this category by not being sensitive to the signals.
—Brenda Fiedler
Reference
Vaughn, C. (n.d.). Why is it so hard for an INTJ to admit that they’re wrong? Quora. Retrieved from: https://bit.ly/3toZeSe.