I’m an introvert, and I openly admit that my kind isn’t the easiest to get. Hell, half the time we don’t even get each other. But that’s no reason to back away. In fact, if you pull up a seat—not TOO close, now—I’ll give you some wise hints.

You try to engage her in polite small talk, and she looks uncomfortable or gives generic answers. We introverts don’t like to talk about “nothing.” Honestly, we’d probably rather stand there in silence than go through the pleasantries of “How are you—I’m fine how are you—I’m fine, how about that football game last night?” None of that is honest, valid information, and we’d rather not bother with it. If you insist on putting us through those motions, we’ll give you the boring “good” answer that will leave you thinking we’re just shy or rude.

You think he must hate talking. We don’t…