QUIET: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

 

"A smart, lively book about the value of silence and solitude that makes you want to shout from the rooftops. Quiet is an engaging and insightful look into the hearts and minds of those who change the world instead of tweeting about it" - DANIEL GILBERT | Professor of psychology, Harvard University, author of Stumbling on Happiness

 

 

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS | Passionately argued, impressively researched, and filled with indelible stories of real people, Susan Cain’s Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking shows how dramatically we undervalue introverts and how much we lose in doing so. Taking the reader on a journey from Dale Carnegie’s birthplace to Harvard Business School and from a Tony Robbins seminar to an evangelical megachurch, Cain charts the rise of the Extrovert Ideal in the twentieth century and explores its far-reaching effects.

She talks to Asian-American students who feel alienated from the brash, backslapping atmosphere of American schools. She questions the dominant values of American business culture, where forced collaboration can stand in the way of innovation and where the leadership potential of introverts is often overlooked. And she draws on cutting-edge research in psychology and neuroscience to reveal the surprising differences between extroverts and introverts.

Perhaps the most inspiring part of the book is where Cain introduces us to successful introverts such as a witty, high-octane public speaker who recharges in solitude after his talks or a record-breaking salesman who quietly taps into the power of questions.

Finally, she offers invaluable advice on everything from how to better negotiate differences in introvert-extrovert relationships and empower an introverted child to when it makes sense to be a “pretend extrovert.”

This extraordinary book has the power to permanently change how we see introverts and, equally important, how introverts see themselves.