Very often, people do not realize that introverts experience things differently than extroverts, Everyone has their own way of being social and having fun. Since introverts have these different feelings, they are often forced out of their comfort zone in order to be more accepted. Susan Cain brings up her own life when she discusses becoming a lawyer on wall street rather than a writer. With this story, she proves the point that introverts are forced out of their comfort zone into what is believed to be a normal personality type. This normal sense is created by the extroverts. Extroverts are the ones who are more frequently heard, so of course they would be the ones for people to compare themselves to and for people to compare others too. The people who are the most frequently heard are the ones who determine how things are run (this really reminds me of the points we brought up with SCWAMP).
Being an introvert is very different than being shy, and it is often a misconception that the two types of people are interchangeable. An introvert is not necessarily shy, they just thrive in an independent setting. However, this misconception is most often seen in schools and places of work. These places are created for extroverts and their need for stimulation. Even small things such as the arrangement of desks affect the way that people work. Group work is forced, even in the fields where group work seems impossible since those subjects are based on independent work. Sadly, teachers have begun to believe that extroverts are the better students, despite introverts being proven to get better grades. I very strongly agree with Susan Cain when she says that people need to understand the solitude is often a key element in the creative process. Without independent thinking, is anything truly creative?
Extroverts do not realize that at times in leadership duties, they can shut down other peoples ideas and begin to force people to put their own look on things. Introverts allow people the opportunity to expand upon their ideas and improve. However, both groups of people are equally important when advancing our society. Many types of problems are currently facing our society, and both introverts and extroverts must learn to work together in order to solve them. This is why I agree with Susan Cain when she says that people should brainstorm and form their own options independently, then come together as a group to compare and discuss different possibilities. Subconsciously, people are persuaded to agree with the person who is well spoken in a group, even if their statement is outlandish and illogical. If people form their own options then later collaborate, each person has the opportunity to form their own independent option, then later learn different ways of thinking. This is good for both introverts and extroverts. The beginning process is good for introverts to get their thoughts together as well as for extroverts to form their own options. Then, the group work helps the extroverts to experience the stimulation that they thrive off of and introverts can hear different takes on a particular subject.
Susan Cain's speech was not created to argue, but to persuade people to consider ways to include and make introverts just as comfortable as extroverts. I really enjoyed that Susan Cain not only discussed the things that needed to be adjusted, but also gave a few examples as to how to make things more suitable for each type of person. Each personality type brings their own strengths to a group, and if the needs of each type of person are met, great things can begin to happen. Through Susan Cain's speech, people are persuaded to think deeper about our places of work and how to create a suitable environment which promotes both teamwork and independent creativity. Cain was not arguing with anyone, she was simply bringing up valid points. Not all writing is meant to argue and persuade. Lots of forms of writing are meant to entertain or to inform; not everything must become a debate.
I myself am an ambivert. An ambivert is someone who falls right in the middle of the introvert and extrovert scale. After watching this video, I decided to take a quiz to determine where I fall within the spectrum. With 1 being a total introvert to 100 being an extreme extrovert, I fall at the center at 51. If you too wish to take this placement test it can be found here. Also, I found another short video that shows what being an introvert or an extrovert really means.
