Masechaba Ndlovu opens up about her social struggles: 'I'm an extroverted introvert'

Introverts are hardly a bunch of shy wallflowers - sometimes, they are proven leaders who can make great public speakers. Take seasoned broadcaster Masechaba Ndlovu for instance.

While Masechaba might seem like the picture of an extrovert on the different media platforms which she occupies, it turns out that she identifies as the opposite.

Speaking to Anele Mdoda on SABC 3's Real Talk, the media personality revealed that due to her nomadic childhood - which saw her leaving Zambia (where she was born), for Zimbabwe and then moving to the United States of America before she was eight years old - she grew accustomed to being alone, and therefore, became an introvert.

• 'Infuriated' Durban mother starts petition to kick Phat Joe off East Coast Radio It's been one week since Phat Joe officially joined KZN-based radio station East Coast Radio (ECR) and there are already calls to boycott him.  

"I've always attributed it to being a Virgo, but come to think of it, having lived a nomadic life didn't give me much time to bond with anybody, so I got so used to being a loner that I enjoy my own space," she said.

Given that she wears a number of hats in her career, which often requires her to go out, speak and engage in conversations, Masechaba explained that she first has to prepare herself mentally before entering into those social spaces.

''I recently discovered that I'm an extroverted introvert.

"I love people, I love talking, I love having conversations, but I have to mentally prepare myself to go into those spaces. I have to mentally prepare myself just to receive someone at my home," adding that visitors cannot just show up at her doorstep, without having informed her.

This isn't the first time that Masechaba has opened up about her social struggles.

In an interview with Essays of Africa earlier this year, she revealed: "I was a socially awkward, introverted and shy bookworm, who struggled to make friends."

However, since then, Masechaba said she started becoming confident, after pretending to be for some time, to a point where she no longer needed to pretend.