Introvert Vs Extrovert: Embracing The Power of Introverts

Introduction

We often hear about quiet power: the secret strengths of introverts and extroverts, which can be interpreted in both positive and negative ways. In TED2012, Susan Cain gave a compelling talk titled 'The Power of Introverts in A World That Can't Stop Talking,' providing valuable insight into how we can harness the strengths of introvert vs extrovert dynamics. Her talk forced us to listen and consider actions we can take to create a balanced environment, with initiatives in areas such as children (parenting and education) and the workplace. What sets Cain's talk apart is its modern approach. Instead of simply advocating for the recognition of introverts' power and reshaping workplace culture, she showed us a better way of life that embraces the strengths of both introverts and extroverts.

Susan Cain: The Author on Introvert Nature

Susan Cain is the author of the bestsellers Quiet Power and Cain explained that if she were not a writer she would want to be a research psychologist. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English then earned her Juris Doctor degree from Princeton from Harvard Law School in 1993. The Secret Strengths of Introverted Kids, and Quiet: The Power of Introverts in A World That Can't Stop Talking, which is in its seventh year on the New York Times bestseller list, and was named the best book of 2012 by Fast Company. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, and many other publications. Seven years in the making, Cain's book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, was published on January 24, 2012.

Recognizing the Value of an Introvert

The business world, today thrives on exceptional leadership, and the power to uniquely distinguish oneself from the average norms of today’s society. Susan Cain successfully demonstrates in her book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that can’t stop talking about how our society greatly underestimates the value of introverted people worldwide. Through her research and final works, it is transparent that we lose sight of how successful introverts can be and how they are beneficial to the business world. Susan establishes her ideas of these types of people, and others, through organizational behavior concepts. Organizations need a mixture of different types of people in order to expand their knowledge and resources for the implementation of successful ideas and in order to find these people, you should look at the aspects of personality, leadership roles, creativity, and attitude. All these factors are essential in determining the roles of everyone in today’s business society.

Stating that, by allowing introverts to comfortably work in their zone of stimulation without judgment, and likewise allowing extroverts to do the same, we create an environment where anyone can raise their creative talents. (Cain,2012) Cain uses numerous rhetorical devices to effectively persuade her audience that introverts are an integral set to society and they should be empowered not repressed. Starting with the introduction of the speech and throughout its entirety, Cain creates an ethical appeal to convince the audience she is credible enough to speak on introversion and to explore her ability to appeal to the audience not simply to the introverts.

Mutual Ideas of an Extrovert and Introvert Nature

The first of many examples where Cain effectively achieved, this outcome is during the opening story, where she describes a summer away at camp, and explains she arrived as a shy girl who preferred to read books instead of participating in group activities and left a confused girl aware of how people perceive her introverted style of being. With the confession of her struggles at camp and a suitcase as a visual aid to add a persuasive dimension to her speech, she immediately gains the trust of her introverted audience by classifying herself as one in that example. However, she further explains that since leaving camp that year, she unwittingly abandoned her introverted ways to model herself after an extrovert throughout most of her adult life which eventually led to her successes as a Wall Street attorney. This caused her to appeal to people in the audience who were on the other end of the spectrum, who might have initially been skeptical of the direction of her speech. This rhetorical tactic prevents Cain from alienating extroverts in the audience while simultaneously staying true to her position. She continues to impress the opposition with the use of ethos by admitting that some of the most cherished people in her life are extroverts, further adding to her fair-mindedness on the subject and maintaining balance and trust from her audience. The interest and respect of her audience peaks once she integrates social appeal to bolster her ethical appeal, by way of summarizing the work of Carl Jung, the psychologist who first popularized the terms extrovert and introvert.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the Organizational Behavior textbook and Susan Cain’s work in Quiet have mutual ideas about the value of introverts in the modern-day world in the concepts of personality, leadership, creativity, and attitudes and behaviors. Our society has transformed from the Culture of Character where it was important to be serious and disciplined to the Culture of Personality in which outgoing and energetic personalities are the most valued. This can essentially be perceived in a good way as well as a bad way. Although social skills and teamwork are extremely important in the working environment, it is critical that we allow more freedom for introverts. In order to create more effective and successful working environments, it is essential that companies have an equal combination of an extrovert as well as underestimated introverts.

Works Cited

1. Cain, Susan. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking. Crown Publishers, 2012.