Susan CainInterview

Interview de l'auteur

Susan Cain has worked as a corporate lawyer and a negotiations consultant. Her first book is Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, published this month by Crown.

You describe in your opening chapters the rise of what you call the Extrovert Ideal. Give us the nutshell version: what is this, and how did it come to be such a powerful force in American culture?

The Extrovert Ideal says tChat the ideal self is gregarious, alpha, and comfortable in the spotlight. Our schools, workplaces, and religious institutions are designed for extroverts, and many introverts believe that there is something wrong with them and that they should try to “pass” as extroverts. The bias against introversion leads to a colossal waste of talent, energy, and happiness.

In my book, I trace how we shifted from a "Culture of Character" into a "Culture of Personality" at the turn of the 20th century. Big business, the media, the self-help industry, and advertising all went through radical changes that had the effect of glamorizing bold and entertaining personality styles. I also tell the surprising life story of Dale Carnegie, who morphed from shy, awkward farm boy into bestselling author of How to Win Friends and Influence People, and is a fascinating example of this cultural transformation.

And I talk about why the Culture of Personality is not a great model for the 21st century.

Shyness and introversion are often conflated, but they're not quite the same thing, right?

Right. Shyness is the fear of disapproval or humiliation; introversion is simply a preference for quiet, minimally stimulating environments. Shyness is inherently painful. Introversion is not. But both personality styles often spring from a careful, sensitive temperament that has great value.

There are, as you point out in the book, some marked differences between the tendencies of people from Eastern and Western cultural backgrounds when it comes to intro/extro-version. What do you think the two cultures can learn from each other?

In many Far Eastern countries, particularly in the Confucian belt, quiet and introspection are signs of deep thought and higher truth. Group harmony is valued, so words are seen as potentially dangerous weapons that reveal things better left unsaid. This Japanese proverb says it all: "The wind howls, but the mountain remains still."

Westerners believe deep down that it's natural for the bold and sociable to dominate the reserved and sensitive. But East-West personality differences show that each way of being—quiet vs. talkative, careful vs. audacious, inhibited vs. unrestrained—is characteristic of its own mighty civilization.

In the book, I show how Eastern personality styles are associated with everything from academic success to political "soft power." I spend an entire chapter in the majority Asian-American town of Cupertino, California, where I talk to Asian-Americans who have conflicted feelings about the brash, back-slapping style of American schools and businesses.

As you write, in many work and educational environments the setup is designed to play to the strengths of extroverts. What can employers and educators do to ensure that introverts are also able to work and learn comfortably and productively?

Introverted employees and schoolchildren thrive in environments that are not overstimulating—surroundings in which they can think (deeply) before they speak, and have plenty of time to work autonomously. This has many implications. Here are two: (1) Introverts perform best in quiet, private workspaces—but unfortunately we're trending in precisely the opposite direction, toward open-plan offices. (2) If you want to get the best of all your employees' brains, don’t simply throw them into a meeting and assume you're hearing everyone's ideas. You’re not; you’re hearing from the most vocally assertive people. Ask people to put their ideas in writing before the meeting, and make sure you give everyone time to speak.

What did you learn in the course of researching and writing this book that surprised you the most?

There are introverts and extroverts in more than a hundred species in the animal kingdom! And neither type of animal is "better" – they simply have different survival strategies.

You write about several important historical introverts. Are there one or two who particularly stand out in your mind, and why?

There are so many! Albert Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Warren Buffett are all excellent examples. None of these leaders was driven by desire for the limelight, even though that’s where they ended up. On the contrary, they were shy or solitary figures so devoted to an idea, passion, or cause that they were compelled to take action in the outer world.

For all of us introverts out here, do you have one major overarching piece of advice about how to deal with life in an extroverted world (aside, of course, from reading Quiet)?

Acquire the skills you need to fake it as an extrovert when you need to, but set up your work and social lives so that most of the time you can be true to your own temperament. If you find work and people you love, you will find it easier to strike this balance.

What were some of your favorite books as a child?

I loved fantasy books, such as Magic by the Lake, by Edward Eager, and The Enchanted Castle, by E. Nesbit. My all-time favorite book was No Flying in the House, by Betty Brock. I buy it for every young girl I know, and they all seem to love it too. I was also a huge fan of British boarding school stories – Autumn Term, by Antonia Forest, had character studies as sophisticated as any I’ve ever read. I still think about the protagonists—Nicola, Lawrie, Tim, and Miranda—as if they were actual childhood friends!

Every summer my family made a pilgrimage to London's bookshops. We took an empty suitcase with us, and filled it with children's books that weren’t available in the States. (Yes, I was incredibly lucky to grow up in such a family.)

What sorts of books do you like to read now? What have you read recently that you really enjoyed?

I am insatiably curious about human nature, so I've spent the last ten years or so reading all manner of psychological non-fiction: Jonathan Haidt’s The Happiness Hypothesis and Mihaly Csizszentmihalyi’s Flow are two favorites. But lately I’ve been returning to my roots in fiction. My recent favorites are Home, by Marilynne Robinson, and People of the Book, by Geraldine Brooks. I also loved Isabel Gillies’ memoir Happens Every Day, about the breakup of her marriage, because Gillies is such wonderful company.

As an introvert yourself, how are you mentally preparing for what must be quite a grueling publicity schedule for the release of Quiet?

What a great question. I'm pacing myself: though my schedule is jam-packed, I'm not afraid to turn down events when I think I have too many booked for a single day. But the truth is that I'm so passionate about this book that I feel remarkably centered and excited about promoting it. In the book, I write about how introverts can push through their natural tendency to avoid the spotlight when focused on goals that are truly meaningful to them. And now I'm walking the talk!

Thanks Susan; good luck on the tour! Readers might be interested in the Quiet Quiz, extracted from Susan's book.

—interview by Jeremy Dibbell