INFJs and Storytelling.

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JesseDornfeld
Don't plan on this being a long post. Just want to ask if this is normal for INFJs.

When I talk, especially in writing, I always follow a kind of story structure. There is usually a problem and a climax as I am discussing things. Is this an INFJ trait? It's almost like the way I discuss things is a bit... theatrical. Like I am always presenting to the class, so to speak. Like I am always on a soapbox.

I know this is probably an NF kind of trait. What other group cares so much about "the moral of the story"? Is this just an NF thing, or is it specifically an INFJ thing?

In any case, does anyone have thoughts on this?

Thanks.
 
I don't know if it is an INFJ thing, specifically. I'm a writer. When I tell a real-life story, I want it to be worth reading or listening to, so I try to stick to a story structure. IMO, the story should be the truth, told in a way that keeps people engaged. Edit out tangents. Don't exaggerate or lie. You know?

I don't always have a great moral or ethical message when storytelling to friends. Sometimes, I just want to entertain them.

In my writing, I have messages, symbolism, hints, etc, but I'm not heavy-handed. I want people to engage in the story in their own way and find what they need.
 
I am an INFJ and I have some of those tendencies as well.

This is something unrefined that came to mind after I thought a little about your post:

Are you set on finding a way of explaining what it is you’re thinking through with typology or are you looking to find the truth about the pattern you are describing? The reason I asked this is because I have some thoughts, but I’m not sure if it’s something you wanna hear or would be open to.

I’m not discounting your theory, because you might have something there, but honestly even if the combination of Ni pattern recognition with the ability to draw connections between them and to assimilate them logically, combined with a drive to find ways of communicating that understanding in the external world (a sort of Fe) has plausibility to it as far as explaining what you are talking about typologicaly—meaning making, moralizing and such—my experience tells me that the pattern might have more of a general psychological rooting that applies potentially to all types.

When I have examined this tendency in myself I have seen goodness in it, but also I have seen patterns of being in the world, interacting with people, and sitting with myself when Im alone that are unconscious compensations for insecurities that were forged in early childhood when I was treated badly and I experienced that death of being unseen.

For myself, I have found some of these tendencies to actually be intrenched coping mechanisms as much as they are traits to feel proud of.

I have personally found in older age that there can be a healthy version
of this certainly when all of the murky depth is revealed and accepted, but now my current reflections about this often just bring up compassion for the parts of me that still need to be on a soap box or prove themselves right.

I know there’s jagged edges to how I’m sharing my thoughts here, I wish I knew how to easily fix that—I’m not trying to offend you and I hope I’m not. I just know that I probably wouldn’t post this if I pressured myself to refine this more.

I like what Asa said about motivations for writing. She’s referencing a relational quality. Its healthy.
 
I believe each NF type would present a moral story in a different way.

INFP would present it from the perspective of the individual relationships.
ENFP would do the same with more random and eclectic story structure events.
ENFJ would structure things as if they were telling a speech to a crowd like a greek play.
INFJ would methodically structure things to show why something happens the way it does as a consequence of actions taken and untaken.
 
In any case, does anyone have thoughts on this?
I don't think this is a trait typical of INFJ type people - in my experience many folks of whatever type can use that sort of approach when they have something to say that they are confident in and which matters to them. Maybe it can be exaggerated to a greater or lesser degree if they are actually not so confident as they'd like to appear, but where it matters a lot to them - the style can then be used, beneath the surface, as a defensive approach.

I guess many teachers (at whatever level of education) present routinely in the sort of way you describe, depending on their subject - some competently and successfully, some maybe clumsily or excessively polemically. One of the best lecturers in my college maths course related the topic he was teaching to tales of his experience working in the atomic energy business, and it brought the subject to life for me in ways that other lecturers failed to do.

I would say that INFJ folks who use this style of presentation of their ideas are likely to use analogy, metaphor and figurative language more than many other types.
 
I should have been clearer. I do NOT mean that I embellish details. I mostly mean that when I talk to people, I like to end on a good note, so to speak.

In other words, I want what I say to make a point, and I can be a bit theatrical in how I end what I say.

Maybe this is because I have a history of making videos where I am talking into the camera. The point is, I want things to be resolute when I end what I am saying. Like, rather than just ending on something "dry," I want what I say to have impact. Does that make sense?
 
Yeah, that makes sense.
I probably misinterpreted what you were meaning a bit.
You’re concerned with meaning. You like to extrovert that.
Am I understanding that right?
I know you are passionate about the Word and that would be a natural arena for what you’re describing. Do you find that find yourself doing the same with video games—or other things you like—as well?
 
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I know you are passionate about the Word and that would be a natural arena for what you’re describing. Do you find that find yourself doing the same with video games—or other things you like—as well?

Yes. It's just how I talk and present information. I don't like to end things flat. When I talk to someone, especially a group, I can get hyper invested in ending on a good note, a kind of pinnacle moment, if you will. In fact, if what I am saying doesn't do that, it can be awkward because I will use filler language to try and do the same thing, and it can be awkward.
 
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