On the new Ask Us Anything podcast, editor in chief Kaitlin Petersen taps former Trade Tales guests to answer real, confidential designer questions, offering a safe space to discuss business frustrations, conundrums and fears. (Have a question of your own to ask? Send an email to start the conversation.)

Networking is commonly understood as a crucial step to accessing jobs, opportunities and personal connections in the design industry (or any industry, for that matter). But what does that mean for introverts? This week, San Francisco Bay Area designer (and self-described introvert) Clara Jung of Banner Day Interiors joins the show to answer a question from a fellow designer who craves community, collaborators and deeper conversations, but often feels flummoxed in a room full of strangers.

Jung jumps in with advice on mentally preparing for large industry events and networking from a place of sincerity, and explains how introversion can be a superpower when it comes to building relationships with clients.

Crucial insight: Jung typically runs through a few preparatory steps to ensure she’s fully ready to make connections at an industry event: arriving at the venue early, and preparing a few topics to discuss that are relevant to the group she’ll be mingling with. When she’s still feeling stuck in her shell, she relies on a simple mental exercise to channel her inner extrovert, which she developed during her first career in law. “I had an alter ego. My name is Clara, and this person became Carla—who I used to fortify myself and envision myself as a different person,” she says. “I don’t mean that as a departure from your true self, but it’s a little freeing: You are yourself, but with a persona.”

Key quote: “Being an introvert, you’re very attuned to people—able to pick up on small signals—and are very sincere and deep thinking, because you are not necessarily expressing every single thing outwardly. If you’re able to turn on that extrovert part of yourself to get the clients and the projects, you will have the radar and the inner tools to collaborate well with your clients in a more intimate setting.”

This episode was sponsored by Four Hands and Crypton. If you like what you hear, subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.