I have recently started reading a book by Susan Caine called “Quiet – the power of introverts in a world that can’t stop talking.” I find it particularly interesting, because although with all of my advertising campaigns, TV and radio appearances and speeches that I have given over the years, people assume that I am an extrovert but I am very much the opposite.

Typically speaking, introverts are people who enjoy solitude, expressing themselves in writing, have a horror of small talk and generally prefer to be at home. The problem for introverts is that this is very much a world that rewards extroverted behaviour, where people prefer to be surrounded by those who are the life and soul of the party and who enjoy socialising.

The book also gives advices on how to assist any children that you have who may be introverted, and of course being introverted yourself does not mean that your children are introverted – I have some extremely extroverted children, as well as one child, who at the moment, is very introverted. Apparently the key is to try and teach introverted children how to at least “fake it” by smiling and in making eye contact. Making solid eye contact is much easier said than done for those who are introverted as it is something many are extremely uncomfortable with – which once again is a problem in the modern world, where in particular a lot of extroverts mistakenly believe that a long steady stare is a sign of trustworthiness, and your desire to not make too much eye contact means you must be dishonest or “up to something”.
Again, we make the mistake of judging people by their race, religion or their cultural background and a lot more study needs to be done about different personalities and teachers and parents in particular need to understand that extroverted and introverted people both have different talents and to understand that. While it is certainly easier to succeed in a society when you are extroverted, it certainly has not stopped introverts like Warren Buffett or Bill Gates from being successful.