February 11, 2022

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain

Genre/Categories: Nonfiction, Psychology of Personalities

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

My Summary:

One third of the individuals we know are introverts. In Quiet, Susan Cain explores what this means in consideration of the recent rise of the Extrovert Ideal and worries that introverts can be undervalued and underappreciated. Identifying an introvert can be difficult since some individuals pretend to be extroverts to fit in. What can “quiet” do that we don’t give it credit for? If you are an introvert, Quiet has the power to change how you see yourself and how others see you. It will empower you.

***Note: The author uses the common spelling of “extrovert” rather than the more academic spelling of “extravert.” So I will as well.

Photo Source Brady Knoll on Pexels.com

My Thoughts:

OK….I feel SEEN….that is all!

I’m encouraging introverts AND extroverts to read Quiet. It will help you become a better leader of people and creator of environments in any organization, as well as a better parent and a better teacher. Anyone working with people will benefit! As a teacher and parent, I especially appreciated the targeted essays. My husband appreciated the leadership aspect and applications to the business world.

Introvered personalities (sensitive, serious, and shy) are challenged in a culture driven by social media influencers, selfies, competition, and self promotion. To compensate, many introverts pretend to be extroverts.

Key concepts I noted from the reading:

• Extroverts tackle assignments quickly and make fast decisions and are comfortable multitasking , risk-taking, and working in teams.
• Extroverts seek rewards.
• Extroverts enjoy the extra bang that comes from activities like meeting new people, skiing slippery slopes, and cranking up the stereo.
• Introverts are friendly and keen observers.
• Introverts feel just right with less stimulation, as when they sip wine with a close friend, solve a crossword puzzle, or read a book.
• Introverts work more slowly and deliberately and like to foccus on one task at a time and can have mighty powers of concentration; they prefer to work invividually rather than in teams.
• Introverts devote their social energies to close friends, colleagues, and family and listen more than they talk. Often they express themselves better in writing than in conversation.
• Introverts enjoy deep discussions.
• Introverts often dream vividly, are creative or intuitive, tend to be philosophical or spiritual, are likely to be persistent, and highly empathetic.
• Introverts experience stress when being observed or surprised.

“Introverts welcome the chance to communicate digitally. The same person who would never raise his [or her] hand in a lecture hall of two hundred people might blog to two thousand, or two million.” No wonder I feel so comfortable in the blogging world!

I appreciate the extensive research by the author, but it’s also a lot! I don’t know if I needed that much but it’s comprehensive, interesting, and informative!

Individuals can have both introverted and extroverted behaviors (which contributes to success); however at your core you will be one or the other. My teaching career required a great deal of extroversion, and even though I could perform as an extrovert, it left me drained and needing significant time to recover. If you are not sure if you’re an introvert or extrovert, Cain provides self assessment tools.

Recommended: I’m absolutely recommending Quiet for ALL readers, but especially Introverts. It’s the boost of empowerment you didn’t know you needed. Thanks Kristin @ Kristin Kraves Books for the recommendation.

You’ll enjoy Susan Cain’s TED Talk here.

My Rating:  4.5-5 Stars

Quiet Information Here

Meet the Author, Susan Cain

SUSAN CAIN is the author of the bestsellers Quiet Journal, Quiet Power: The Secret Strengths of Introverts, and Quiet: The Power of Introverts in A World That Can’t Stop Talking, which has been translated into 40 languages, is in its seventh year on the New York Times best seller list, and was named the #1 best book of the year by Fast Company magazine, which also named Cain one of its Most Creative People in Business.

LinkedIn named her the 6th Top Influencer in the world. Susan has partnered with Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant and Dan Pink to launch the Next Big Idea Book Club and they donate all their proceeds to children’s literacy programs.

Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, and many other publications. Her record-smashing TED talk has been viewed over 30 million times on TED.com and YouTube combined, and was named by Bill Gates one of his all-time favorite talks.

Cain has also spoken at Microsoft, Google, the U.S. Treasury, the S.E.C., Harvard, Yale, West Point and the US Naval Academy. She received Harvard Law School’s Celebration Award for Thought Leadership, the Toastmasters International Golden Gavel Award for Communication and Leadership, and was named one of the world’s top 50 Leadership and Management Experts by Inc. Magazine. She is an honors graduate of Princeton and Harvard Law School. She lives in the Hudson River Valley with her husband and two sons.

Visit Cain and Quiet at http://www.quietrev.com.

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QOTD:

Are you an introvert or extravert?

Have you read Quiet or is it on your TBR?

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