243: Tips from an Introverted SLP
Show Notes:
Get ready for another exciting brew of SLP Coffee Talk! This week, Hallie sits down with Marsha Pinto, a proud introverted SLP, who’s here to prove that being a quiet professional is nothing short of a superpower. Marsha, a speech therapist with the San Jose Unified School District in Northern California, primarily works with autistic students, as well as those with selective mutism and apraxia. She’s a familiar face on local news stations, where she shares her expertise on pediatric speech and language development, and she’s also a seasoned conference speaker, advocating for introverted students. As the founder of the non-profit “Softest Voices,” Marsha is dedicated to promoting greater acceptance of introverts.
Marsha opens up about her career journey, discussing how she finds balance as an introvert in a typically extroverted field. She shares insights on how embracing quiet time can be your secret weapon in therapy. If you’ve ever thought that being an introvert might hold you back, think again—Marsha is here to show you that it’s actually your greatest strength!
Here's what we learned:
Here’s what we learned:
- How Marsha turned introversion into her SLP superpower.
- Why starting sessions with silence can boost focus and progress.
- Marsha’s strategy for managing energy to avoid burnout.
- How introverts can ace interviews and connect without the anxiety.
- How Marsha went from doubting herself to presenting at major conferences like ASHA!
RESOURCES
Learn more about Marsha Pinto:
Marsha's Website Softest Voices
Learn more about Hallie Sherman and SLP Elevate:
🎧 Check out the Secondary Secret Podcast here!
JOKE OF THE WEEK:
Q: Why is two plus two equal five like your left foot?
A: It's not right.
Where We Can Connect:
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TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00 Hallie: Hey there SLP working with grades 4 through 12. New school year, new you. Let's not go into this school year feeling overwhelmed and behind on paperwork. Let's not worry about students asking why they are coming to speech. Let's not have students shrug in their shoulders and looking at you saying, why am I here? I don't wanna be here.
00:00:22 Hallie: Let's instead have your students excited to come to speech, ready to take on the challenges you provide and make massive progress towards their goals. If you are ready to make this school year the year that you leave work promptly at the end of the day, plan in an hour or less a week, and go into every session confident that your students will grasp the session objectives, then SLP Elevate is just what you need to make this school year a successful one.
00:00:48 Hallie: Either go to slplevate.com or send me a DM on Instagram with the word club, C-U-L-B. And we can discuss if SLP Elevate is right for you and your students. Now is the time to get your time back. And now is the time to get your students excited to come to speech. SLP Elevate is perfect for you.
00:01:15 Hallie: Welcome to SLP Coffee Talk, the podcast designed exclusively for speech language pathologists who work with older students, grades 4 through 12. I am your host, Hallie Sherman, your SLP behind Speech Time Fun, the Speech Retreat Conference, and the SLP Elevate Membership. And I'm thrilled to bring you conversations, strategies, and insights that will give you the jolt of inspiration that you need. Whether you're tuning in during your morning commute, on a break in between sessions, or relaxation time. I am here for you each and every week. Let's do this SLPs.
00:01:55 Hallie: Hey, hey, and welcome to another episode of SLP Coffee Talk. Today I have Marsha Pinto here talking all about being an introverted SLP. Marsha, welcome to the show.
00:02:09 Marsha: Thank you, Hailey, glad to be here.
00:02:11 Hallie: Tell everyone a little bit about your SLP journey.
00:02:14 Marsha: Yeah, so I'm a fairly new SLP. So I've been an SLP for about five years. I graduated in 2019 from Yeshiva University, where I got my degree in medical SLP. Now I currently work in schools in San Jose. I've been working with children with autism for about four years in our moderate to severe classrooms. But recently I'll be transitioning into a new role as the lead SLP in our district. So I'm excited for that.
00:02:41 Marsha: When I'm not doing the regular SLP stuff, I do go on different tours around the country where I speak on introverts in education, introvert SLPs, everything about being an introvert. I'm still looking at ASHA and also the California version of ASHA. And then I also do some news interviews usually around like the back to school time or during Autism Awareness Month, just bringing some good old SLP advice on those topics.
00:03:09 Hallie: How'd you get into this?
00:03:11 Marsha: Yeah, it's something I've been passionate about. And I think as a young SLP, I think, you know, the media and like, you know, interpreters, they needed a voice that they can relate to. So I was like, this is what I want to do. And now that I'm an SLP, I can, you know, finally, you know, use my professional degree for something.
00:03:33 Hallie: Is it something I have to ask? Did you always identify as an introverted SLP or was it more, or an introvert, or was it more when you went into the profession that you started feeling that more aligned?
00:03:47 Marsha: Yeah, so I've always been an introvert for as long as I can remember, just like being in kindergarten and being like really nervous and shy on my first day, not being that kid who would like talk to everyone easily, didn't have the most friends, so I would always prefer to be on my own and prefer to do those quieter activities like writing. I was really good at writing and would love to do it.
00:04:13 Marsha: So any solo activities is what I gravitated towards. And as I went on, I was basically told you need a career that matches that personality. So that goes into my whole journey of how I actually was discouraged from being an SLP.
00:04:31 Hallie: Oh my goodness, tell us a little bit about that. Like who discouraged you?
00:04:35 Marsha: Yeah, for sure. So I guess in high school, when you're, you know, you're figuring out what you want to do with your life, that's where I, you know, I did some volunteer work at a local hospital in my town. And it was one of those things where you apply to these different jobs at the hospital volunteer work and they kind of pick whatever is available and whatever matches your resume. So I actually picked pathology.
00:05:01 Marsha: And then I was surprised when I got into speech pathology. I was like, what is this? It's, is it, you know, pathology is very different. And I was like, okay, I'll try it out. Cause I, you know, I knew I wanted to do something in healthcare, but I didn't exactly know what. So when I started the… I guess you can call it a volunteer role at the hospital. I didn't know what I was getting into. So it started with this social skills group. It was a preschool as part of the county where they saw children, I think, under four for preschool, speech and language, and they had like a social skills group every day.
00:05:39 Marsha: So at first I wasn't, I was like, I'm not sure what I'm doing here. But as time went on, I really related to those kids and kind of, you know, being not the kid that wanted to talk to others and having your parents really worried about that. So I related to that. And then I felt consolation, being able to comfort the parents who were worried about their kids not talking and worried about their future. So I related to that and I was like, maybe I can do this as a career and really make a change for kids and parents who are really worried about language skills.
00:06:12 Hallie: I love that. What have been some challenges that you've had to face navigating the field as an introvert?
00:06:20 Marsha: Yeah, so I think people in all sorts of professions, now that I've spoken at different medical conferences, educator conferences, the main message I've related to and others have related to mine is that college students, students in general, are told to go into professions that match their personality type. When we think of SLPs, we think of someone, you know, you're really talking to yourself to encourage that. You see this really like type A personality, really energetic, really extroverted.
00:06:52 Marsha: When a lot of professors and teachers saw my personality right from high school, they were like, I don't think this is the right career for you, for your personality. I don't know how successful you will be in this. And that went for like any leadership role I would take. People were hesitant with how successful I could be in that role. So the main message based on those experiences I wanted to share with teachers face this as well, because it's a role where they're talking a lot and doctors as well, is that you don't necessarily need to be that talkative doctor or SLP to be successful.
00:07:30 Marsha: These are also careers that you need to be a really great listener, because people are coming to you with help on their math problem, help with their illness, help with their speech issue, so they really need someone to listen to what they're going through and really help them figure out a solution to it.
00:07:48 Hallie: That was true. It's often like an occupational hazard for us that we talk too much and we're not able to get our clients, our students to talk because we're talking too much. It's like, I consider myself an extroverted introvert.
00:08:04 Marsha: Yeah, there's a lot of those too.
00:08:06 Hallie: So I might appear as extroverted, but internally, in my head, I'm going like, oh my God, all the time, like always consciously aware and nervous. And so it's no matter where how you classify yourself, like it's totally normal and relatable. And there's so many SLPs out there that I'm sure you've experienced and spoken with. What we just share some experiences that you've heard and, you know, in your journey as speaking to others.
00:08:33 Marsha: Yeah, so my first like, you know, I guess putting this out into the SLP world was in 2019 during my CF year when I wrote an article on the ASHA leader about introverts. So that was like, you know, the ASHA leader and ASHA in general had never had anything on introverts. I was like, oh, so this can be, you know, something new. I'll test the waters. And it was actually a hit, like so much of a hit that a former ASHA president, Dr. Elise McFarland reached out to me. And I was shocked because, you know, you never think of ASHA presidents or anyone in a leadership position relating to that.
00:00:10 Marsha: But yeah, she's been a great mentor and she's really related to being an introvert and people were surprised to know that she was an introvert being an ASHA president as well. And since then I presented met a few ASHA conferences and a lot of SLPs have just related to it and so glad that someone's finally talked about it because there's the totally introvert SLP and then there's the mix of, you know, like you said, the introvert extrovert SLP. So we got a lot of those people relating and just people who weren't sure whether they were one.
00:09:41 Marsha: And then they realized, oh wait, that's why I've been feeling so burnt out from all the socializing and the talking from our jobs. So I think it brought a lot of awareness to just how much talking and socializing we do. And a lot of people realize like, oh, maybe it's not just, you know, the workload that's running me out. Maybe it's just like the daily activities of the job as well.
00:10:03 Hallie: You talk a little bit more about the burnout and how you might experience it a little bit differently and how you cope with it.
00:10:10 Marsha: Yeah, for sure. So recently, my presentations have taken a different kind of turn, not towards more focused on something called quiet time and how it can be beneficial for therapy, for SLP, for teachers just using it in the classroom for teaching. So what it's focused on is having that sort of quiet time, just like five or two minutes, it doesn't have to be really that long in therapy, just to allow like, let's say you're in a school setting, students come in from their noisy class and they're coming to the therapy room and they just can't focus and you're wondering why.
00:10:47 Marsha: And research shows that noise brings out the stress, the fight or flight response in us. And as humans, even if we're kids, they're still going through that. So just starting your therapy session or your classroom session with a few minutes of just complete silence. It really helps students or patients just decompress from whatever they were going through, the traffic from driving to your session or whatever they were going through at home. It just allows them to just be still in the silence, gather their thoughts, be present in the environment they are. And research has shown it has more of a productive effect in therapy and in homework or the classroom in general.
00:11:34 Hallie: No, interesting. That's so fascinating. Like more than just ourselves and what us as SLPs might need, like being cognizant of what the students might need and the sensory overload of just transitioning into our speech therapy room. Like that's so fascinating. What would you say to someone who's like, well, I only have 30 minutes. When am I having quiet time when I only have 30 minutes with them? How do I have time for that?
00:11:56 Marsha: Yeah, so what I try to hone in on this idea is that it not only benefits your students, your patients, whatever, but it benefits you because as SLPs, I can't think of one SLP that's told me like they have enough time in their day. We're always like going from one session to another, you know, paperwork, writing our soap notes. So this time, it's like, it's time for us to just like, you know, settle and say, you know, I'm done that session, I'm in this session, you know. Just some time to breathe between patients or clients. It's, you know, some time to just decompress and be present.
00:12:32 Marsha: Because I feel like a lot of us are just thinking about the next thing always like, oh, I need to write notes on this. Oh, I have to finish that report or that IEP. So it's just a reminder for us to be present. And it just gives us that quiet time, too, that we need.
00:12:48 Hallie: It's amazing. What advice would you give to someone who's saying interviewing, networking, all of that is really stressful and there's a lot of anxiety when it comes to putting myself out there for looking for the perfect position or meeting potential clients. What would you say to someone who is really struggling with the networking and interviewing aspect?
00:13:09 Marsha: Yeah. So the funny thing is at the, I think these are ASHA or the CASHA conference that I spoke at, a lot of people in HR, the recruiters from the fairs that ASHA and CASHA have, came to these presentations because they were curious because they said like we've had a lot of these person introvert personalities interview for our SLP roles, et cetera. And we don't know if we're evaluating them the same way.
00:13:35 Marsha: So what I really try to hone in on my presentations is like a different way of evaluating our externs in graduate programs, our CFs, so that we're not just focused on how animated that SLP is in their session, but more like were they listening? Were they looking at, you know, the things that other people didn't notice? Like maybe, you know, the student with selective mutism was, you know, making an effort behind the classroom to communicate.
00:14:03 Marsha: Maybe he or she was on talking, but those little things and taking some time to remember the small things. Like, you know, Mr. Bob mentioned something yet last week about going to a baseball game and the therapist remembered that. So what we find is that introverts are really good with those small details, making those personal connections and remembering those details and the listening part. So when I try to tell, you know, HR professionals and anyone who's evaluating students is that really focus on those listening skills instead of, you know, just how much they're saying or doing.
00:14:38 Hallie: That's so amazing. And as SLPs struggling with these networking situations, just note that there's other ways of communicating. And is there any coping strategies that you like to do going into some of these situations?
00:14:52 Marsha: So one of the things that I also put in my presentation is knowing to manage your energy and not your time. Because we live in a world where we have agendas, schedules, personal journals, we're always trying to schedule as much as we can in the short amount of time that we have in our day. We're never really told, manage your energy first, not your time.
00:15:12 Marsha: Maybe you got four hours of sleep and now you're expected to, you know, go through a whole day of therapy. Obviously not as productive as if, you know, you had that sleep, you took that day off and now you're coming into this session, you know, with all this energy. So I always tell SLPs like they need to know what takes away their energy and what, you know, builds their energy.
00:15:35 Marsha: So for extra root SLPs, maybe they can go to the ASHA convention and go to after parties and then the next day go back to work and do all those sessions and no problem. But maybe for another SLP, they're just exhausted from one day of ASHA for the ASHA convention and they're like, I can't do this anymore. So knowing what your energy level is with socializing, knowing when to take a break and also knowing when to say no and knowing that that's okay.
00:16:02 Hallie: It's so helpful. What advice would you give to someone who's saying, look at you, you're saying you're an introverted SLP, but you're presenting at ASHA and CASHA and all these big conferences. How did you overcome this to put yourself out there? What would you say to someone who's like, I have so many great ideas, but I'm worried that I can't put myself out there like that?
00:16:21 Marsha: Yeah, that's a good question. Sometimes I don't know how I do it myself. I'm like… But I think the key is, like I said, with introverts, we really… I guess when we're passionate about something, we really put our energy towards it. And I think for me, what's helped also is the writing aspect, having something prepared, like presentations are usually prepared. So usually write down notes. So if you're that type of person, that's totally fine to write down notes or to rehearse something beforehand.
00:16:52 Marsha: If you're going to an interview or going to a convention and you wanna like, you know, the typical practice in front of a mirror, how to talk to someone. So whatever helps you, I think for introverts, if we prepare for a situation, it kind of helps us with the unexpected.
00:17:08 Hallie: I love that. And I love that there's so many of these conferences, they have call for papers on their websites. Anyone can apply. It's not like they are seeking out presenters. It's available to whoever has a great idea, can easily go in and apply to speak. And there's so many tools, like you said, having the slides, having the notes in front of you, preparing ahead of time and knowing that you're so passionate on the topic, like, and you know so much and who you can be impacting by presenting. So that's so amazing.
00:17:40 Marsha: Yeah, for sure. I'm thankful, you know, ASHA related to it and accepted it because I know they get a lot of different topics, but yeah, if you have, if you think a topic is crazy, it might not be, so just, you know, don't be afraid to put it out there.
00:17:53 Hallie: I love that. Any last bit of advice for someone who is just feeling uncertain or feeling like they can use some bit of comfort or advice? What would you give to someone listening?
00:18:08 Marsha: Yes, I think this is especially needed for a lot of college students. So I do speak at local NSLAs for SLP college students aspiring SLPs. And the main concern is that they feel like they're professors, they're teachers don't think they could be successful SLPs because being animated in a session is really hard for them. So I encourage them to really speak to their professors one-on-one and try to explain to them, there's different aspects of an SLP that can be successful.
00:18:41 Marsha: Look at your writing skills, your listening skills, and sort of negotiate with them that way. I'm also happy to provide materials. If SLP students or SLPs need it as well, they can contact me.
00:18:53 Hallie: Well, thank you. Where can they learn more about you and how to reach you if they have questions?
00:18:59 Marsha: Yeah, so they can go to my website softestvoices.com and they can also follow me on Instagram, which is softest_voices.
00:19:09 Hallie: Thank you so, so much. This is so helpful. Anyone who's feeling like they can't relate or feeling uncertain in certain situations or feeling like they need that quiet time and whether or not that is okay, it is okay. And your students can benefit from it too. And I love that you said about the energy and knowing your own energy and knowing what you need and being able to just advocate and just do it. Take that breaks when you need it.
00:19:32 Hallie: Being an SLP is so stressful in itself and knowing what you need is so important to prevent that burnout. Keep going and keep going with that passion. So thank you so much for joining us here today. Everyone check out Marsha, check out everything she has to show, go to her site, go see her on, do you have any upcoming speaking engagements?
00:19:50 Marsha: Nothing confirmed yet, but possibly ASHA in Seattle. So…
00:19:58 Hallie: Okay, very, very exciting. So definitely go check out one of our speaking engagements and thank you so much. I always end my episodes with a joke because jokes are fun, those are poor and very language based. It's not a quiz. Why is two plus two equal five like your left foot?
00:20:18 Marsha: Oh, I don't know about that one.
00:20:20 Hallie: It's not right.
00:20:21 Marsha: Oh, okay.
00:20:25 Hallie: I don't come up with these guys. I Google corny jokes and then I just repeat it out here. But after that quiet time, if you need a little to pick me up to build rapport with your students, these jokes are here for you guys each and every week. And I will see everyone next week on another episode of SLP Coffee Talk. Thank you so much.
00:20:45 Marsha: Thank you.
00:20:51 Hallie: Thanks so much for tuning in to another episode of SLP Coffee Talk. It means the world to me that you're tuning in each and every week and getting the jolt of inspiration you need. You can find all of the links and information mentioned in this episode at my website, speechtimefun.com. Don't forget to follow the show so you don't miss any future episodes.
