Susan Cain

Expert on Introvert Power and Leadership Consultant

Quiet: The Power of Introverts In a World That Can't Stop Talking

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THE LATEST: Cain's book is an instant New York Times bestseller. Her 2012 TED talk, which garnered a standing ovation, smashed a TED record for first week videos with over 1,000,000 views, and now has over 2 million views. She was also recently interviewed by Arianna Huffington, which can be seen HERE.

"QUIET legitimizes and even celebrates the "niche" that represents half the people in the world. Think Malcolm Gladwell for people who don't take themselves too seriously. Mark my words, this book will be a bestseller." - Guy Kawasaki

In an increasingly social world, Susan Cain shifts our focus to help us reconsider the role of introverts--outlining their many strengths and vital contributions. Like A Whole New Mind and Stumbling on Happiness, Cain's book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts In a World That Can't Stop Talking, is a paradigm-changing lodestar that shows how dramatically our culture has come to misunderstand and undervalue introverts. You would think Cain, a Princeton and Harvard Law School-educated author, would be your typical, self-confident, pound-the-table kind of person; in fact, she's just the opposite. She'd rather read than socialize, and she thinks before she speaks (softly). But far from considering these disadvantageous traits, Cain owes her success to them.

Cain has practiced corporate law for seven years, representing clients like General Electric, and is a negotiations consultant, training everyone from hedge fund managers to TV producers to college grads navigating their first jobs. Cain has used her time in corporate boardrooms, together with her experience as both a student and teacher of negotiation, to create uniquely informative talks.

Susan Cain Speech Topic

Quiet: How to Harness the Strengths of Introverts to Change How We Work, Lead, and Innovate

Did you know that introverted leaders often deliver better results than extroverts? That the most spectacularly creative people tend to be introverts? That the most innovative thinking happens alone, and not in teams? One of the central challenges of any business is to bring out the best in its employees. Yet when it comes to introverts--who make up a third to a half of the workforce--our leadership strategy mainly consists of asking them to act like extroverts. This is a serious waste of talent and energy. In an enlightening, relatable, and practical talk, Susan Cain shows us that introverts think and work in ways that are crucial to the survival of today's organizations. How can you structure your organization so that the best ideas dominate, rather than those of the most vocal and assertive people? How do introverts' and extroverts' different personalities cause them to solve problems and evaluate risk differently? What do introverts know about creativity that the rest of us should learn? Drawing on her original research and the latest in neuroscience and psychology, Cain will radically change your view of the best way to develop leaders, manage teams, make smart hires, and stimulate innovation.

Quiet Kids: How Our Education System Can Teach Introverted Students

A central challenge of any educational system is to bring out the best in all its students. This means providing a robust learning experience for both introverted and extroverted children. Yet too often with introverts--who comprise nearly a half of every classroom--we simply ask them to act like extroverts. This is a serious waste of quiet children's considerable and under-noticed talents, not to mention their energy and happiness. In an enlightening and practical talk, Susan Cain shows us that introverted children possess gifts that enhance the culture of any classroom, and are crucial to the survival of our society. Drawing on her original research, compiled over years, Cain answers a plethora of questions, including how and when to use group work, grade on class participation, and use social media in the classroom. Passionate yet coolly reasoned, Cain will radically change your view of the best way to cultivate the talents of quiet children, develop their leadership skills, and create a classroom culture designed for introverts and extroverts alike. This is an urgent and necessary talk for anybody concerned with the state of education today.

VIDEOS

LINKS

Susan Cain's Blog

BOOKS

Quiet: The Power of Introverts In a World That Can't Stop Talking

ARTICLES

Susan Cain Gives Introverts More Power and Influence - Fast Company

Introverts run the world -- quietly - CNN

Don't Call Introverted Children 'Shy' - TIME Magazine Cover

Secrets of a Super Successful Introvert: How to (Quietly) Get Your Way - O Magazine

Avoiding The Limelight - Quiet Review in The Wall Street Journal

The Fortunes Of Solitude: Susan Cain On Introverts - Fast Company

Is Shyness an Evolutionary Tactic? - New York Times

The Power of Introverts: A Manifesto for Quiet Brilliance - Scientific American

The Rise of the New Groupthink - The New York Times

All Speakers > Susan Cain

SUSAN CAIN at TED 2012

"When it comes to creativity and to leadership," Susan Cain said at TED 2012, "we need introverts doing what they do best." Her talk received a standing ovation. Cain's instant bestseller, Quiet, is a manifesto for the one-third to one-half of the population who are introverts—and who have been told, all their life, that their natural personality is flawed, that behaving like an extrovert is the only path to success. Most of our institutions, from schools to workplaces, are heavily biased toward extroverts. A self-identified introvert, Cain is working to change this and to radically transform the way we develop leaders, manage teams, make smart hires, and stimulate innovation.