453 Quotes by Susan Cain

Most great ideas spring from solitude.

I’ve never given a speech without being terrified first.

Emily is talking to Greg about dinner parties, not divorce, but her communication style echoes Celia’s. When she and Greg disagree, her voice gets quiet and flat, her manner slightly distant. What she’s trying to do is minimize aggression – Emily is uncomfortable with anger – but she appears to be receding emotionally.

Since then, some forty years of research has reached the same startling conclusion. Studies have shown that performance gets worse as group size increases: groups of nine generate fewer and poorer ideas compared to groups of six, which do worse than groups of four. The “evidence from science suggests that business people must be insane to use brainstorming groups,” writes the organizational psychologist Adrian Furnham.

Don is “a bitter introvert,” as he cheerfully puts it – bitter because the more time he spends at HBS, the more convinced he becomes that he’d better change his ways.

If you’re in the backyard sitting under a tree while everyone else is clinking glasses on the patio, you’re more likely to have an apple fall on your head.

Parks herself seemed aware of this paradox, calling her autobiography Quiet Strength – a title that challenges us to question our assumptions. Why shouldn’t quiet be strong? And what else can quiet do that we don’t give it credit for?

Speak with conviction. Even if you believe something only fifty-five percent, say it as if you believe it a hundred percent.

Whoever you are, bear in mind that appearance is not reality.