The book about introverts. Those of us who are, might feel like we’re often surrounded by extroverts. Certainly they get a lot of the attention and American culture tends to adulate them. Yet Susan Cain says that a third up to half of the population are introverts, but many can mask it well, acting more extroverted when it’s expected or advantageous to do so. Interesting. The first thing she tackles in this book is relating some cultural history- how extroversion came to be seen as the ideal- it wasn’t always so. I’d never considered it before- but this was also rather dry to get through and it almost put me off reading the book. Glad I moved on, because there’s so much more- what makes people introverted or extroverted- it’s not simply nature/nurture but a complex combination of many factors and influences. How group work has become popular both in workplaces and schools, but why introverts tend to be more productive when working alone. Tips on how introverts can learn to be better at public speaking, navigating house parties, getting through a bustling school day, etc. Or for parents: how to encourage and guide a shy, quiet child without pushing too hard (which can be damaging). Much of the examples in the book are from the world of business- how investors, lawyers, etc ignored the good advice of quiet-spoken people and why extroverts get the spotlight and followers, sometimes to their detriment. The difference between introverted and extroverted leadership types. The strengths that quiet people can bring to all kinds of workplaces, and so on. There was actually so much of this it got tiresome for me- I related much better to the final section which was about the personality types in relationships- how introvert/extrovert friendships and marriages can work well (or not) for example. But that felt so briefly dealt with, compared to all the prior chapters. I did appreciate that so much material was drawn from real interviews- with students in different types of universities, for example. With people from different cultures and backgrounds, how they experienced and viewed types of social interactions. (Extroverts tend to find social interaction energizing, introverts may prefer their downtime alone). Lots of studies quoted and explained, many examples of famous people. I nodded my head in affirmation at many things, and was nicely surprised by other details. One of those books that can give you a better understanding of why you are the way you are (for either personality types, also those in between).
Rating: 4/5
334 pages, 2012
6 Responses
This sounds fascinating, a pity it’s a bit on the dry side as I love working out what makes me tick from information in this kind of book. I’m an introvert, but I’m odd as I can talk to people with no problem whatsoever, even complete strangers, but find public speaking impossible and hate working in a team. And parties! Oh, how I loathe parties! Think I might try to find a copy of this.
I think a lot of people are a mix to some degree- the author mentioned many examples. My husband for example, is pretty much an extrovert but so soft-spoken he fooled me for a long time!
I love this book!
It’s really good, isn’t it? I wish I’d read it a long time ago! It makes me realize some things about myself will never change, so I shouldn’t try so much to be more like others, haha.
It sounds like there’s a lot of good interesting information about introverts vs. extraverts in this one if you have enough patience to stick to the book long enough to get through its dry passages. As a confirmed introvert, I’m curious.
Yes. Really the dry parts got dull for me because so much was focused on examples from businessmen and investors- which I had difficulty relating to. But there was so much new info for me- things about the personality types that weren’t at all what I expected, but made a lot of sense. Made me see some things differently. If you do read it, I’ll be eager to see what you think!