Susan Cain is a Ted-Talker, and also the author of the book “Quiet- The power of introverts in the world that can’t stop talking” which is a very famous book that changed a millions of lives around the world, with a whole new perspective about introverts, she unlocks so many possibilities and opportunities for introverts in various ways including career paths, networking, relationship, etc.
In the TV show, Susan Cain shared some of her practical tips about public speaking and the nature of introverts in the world that always favors extroverts.
First, don’t be a nervous speaker, think positively!
for those who are afraid of public speaking, one of the most visible examples we could see is introverts tend to be very nervous and scared of public speaking than extroverts. The pressure of looking at the audiences, absorbing all the energy from audiences in the room just to make them feel exhausted and drained mentally. According the Susan Cain, being nervous in front of thousands of people is completely normal; it is nothing to be shamed about. Instead of focusing the negative energy from the audiences, you could look on the bright side and focus on the positive ones.
It is always be someone in the audiences who is a stinker, who is just boring or not interested in what you’re saying, and that is okay, don’t focus on those disgruntled people, focus on those who listen to you all ears, who support and willing to listen from your stories, when you do what you do wholeheartedly, the audiences will feel it and they inevitably support and give you chances to prove yourself and deliver your messages to them.
➡️So next time, when you have to do public speaking, you can be confident and always have the right mindset, think positively and just do it with your heart and good intention for those who want to hear you.
Second, choose your career carefully and wisely.
When it comes to career decisions, introverts and extroverts have the same problems, but most introverts are sensitive and when they make a career decision, they have to weigh a lot of factors and think very carefully than their counterparts. The tip from Susan Cain here is choosing career wisely and carefully.
A lot of folks in this modern age when they think of a job, they always think about how they would get per month, the income, the ideal working environment, the work that could bring them to high income even though the environment is harsh and toxic, the colleagues are also “ so-so”, etc. In other words, they don’t even think about what work could fit their personality traits, doing the work that they also love and make them feel good. They rush into the work without thinking twice and all they can get is tiredness, toxic environment, a bunch of stuffs to do even though the salary is so high paid.
So with an introverts, we should choose a job that fits our temperament or our personality, of course, there are some jobs that introverts have a passion for such as those in sales, marketing, some fields requiring them to go to the extra mile and socialize with people in public. The thing here is you can ACT OUT OF CHARACTER when you do some work requiring you to be extra extroverted but you do it mindfully, and after you’ve done your work, you could go back to your personal space and recover yourself.
Some introverts working in sales industry, they would feel very difficult to stay socially connected to the clients in public, but they know the characteristics of the work, they still do the duties but after they’ve done the work, they get home and they can be themselves-an introverted person.
Some of the work requires you to get out of your comfort zone, act out of character for the sake of work, as soon as you’ve done; you come back, go to the empty space and are mindful about it.
➡️CHOOSING CAREER WISELY
Third, make quotas in your daily life
This idea comes from in some cases, when introverts are mostly invited to go to many events, parties, conferences, meetings where a bunch of strangers have. You could set a quota system for yourself when you got invited by your friend about his birthday, for example, you can set up in a week, you could go out to join in parties or events twice, so you could go out 8 times/month. That way, you won’t feel guilty and have to constantly beat yourself up for not going to your friend’s parties or any invitations.
The same applies for relationship as well, by setting the system for you and your partner; you would avoid so many problems. For example, you could set a quota for you and your partner to go the supermarket how many times, such as you could go to the supermarket to buy foods twice per week, and your partner maybe the same depends on the amount of work and schedules of both of you, by setting a specific quota to meet, you avoid confrontations and arguments all the time. ➡️SETTING QUOTAS FOR YOURSELF
Fourth, when it comes to networking, introverts think it like a nightmare, so the tip here is to be comfortable, just find someone who you can feel really connected to, just ONE person, you don’t need to make friends all of the people there, someone who you can find something in common and talk to them. There is so much higher in quality than in quantity. In other words, in any meetings, cultivate the “ kindred relationships”, which means finding someone who you can feel close to and deeply connected.
From those conversations, they may become your “business partner” someday, or they may help you in certain things that you can’t. For example, you are good at listening and writing, but you aren’t good at talking in front of the public, so your friend who are an extrovert may help you to do so, which is so great and as you can see extroverts and introverts can compliment each other a lot in one way or another.
➡️BUILDING A KINDRED RELATIONSHIP WIT OTHERS
Finally, when you are in a party, let say the party is 2 hours long, and during that time, you feel like you are done, you hit the breaking point and you want to go home, that is enough for you, you can excuse your friends and then go home. Just train yourself to exit a social conversation when you feel done, giving yourself time and break, and your friends will understand when you feel done.
➡️BE MINDFUL AND TRAIN YOURSELF TO LEAVE A SOCIAL EVENT WHEN YOU FEEL DONE!
=>Bottom line: Your introvert personality has its strengths and powers; it can access you to all the powers of observation, sensitivity and doing a lot of great things in this world.
Mahatma Gandhi when he was a young age, he was always a shy, quiet and introverted person, but look at what he did was so amazing, he did what he can in his powers, with the power of observations and leverage his strengths, he realized that his personality type is the greatest asset he could ever possesses.
HONOR YOUR PERSONALITY AND DO THE GREAT THING!
=>Watch in full episode: https://bit.ly/2vGfYJu
Summarized and Written by Tuyet Son
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