Translator: Ilze Garda Reviewer: Peter van de Ven
Imagine an unlikely story.
One day, you get a knock on your door,
and as you open it, you see a bunch of official looking people in uniforms
who say that you have been chosen
to represent your country in the next space mission.
And before you can say a word,
you get dragged to a car, driven to the launch pad,
put in a tight space suit, and fired into space.
How would you feel in that tight space suit?
How would you feel spending months in a lonely space capsule?
Some of you would feel trapped, enclosed in that little space,
unable to communicate with the rest of the world.
While others would feel the complete opposite:
you'd feel safe, as if the whole of space couldn't hurt you.
Nowadays, we call that second group of people introverts
because in many ways, introverts feel like social astronauts.
Whenever they engage in a social conversation,
they feel like they are on a hostile planet,
and they need to wear a social space suit
in order for there to be a layer between them and the rest of the world.
In fact, if they could put on an actual space suit
and come to parties dressed like that so they wouldn't have to talk to people,
they'd do it.
Moreover, if they had a choice to come to your party or be shot into space,
they'd be shot into space.
I myself grew up as a quiet child, so very predictably, I became an engineer.
That is right, ladies and gentlemen,
I spent five years of university just to become a stereotype.
But somewhere along the line, I also got a love for public speaking,
being on stage.
So a typical workday would be hours of silence, sitting at a computer,
and then in the evening, I'd have to entertain an audience.
And when people find out about this seemingly dual life of mine,
they act surprised, and honestly, I find it a bit patronizing.
As if people are saying,
"Oh, so you not only generate ideas in that little basement
but also crawl out into the sunlight and present those ideas?
How fascinating!"
But I know they mean well;
I know they only mean that it's surprising
that someone could like something for introverts
but also like something for extroverts.
But this is where I think they get it wrong:
in assuming that public speaking is only meant for extroverts.
I myself, I'm your bog standard, run-of-the-mill,
ready-made, factory-produced, stereotypical introvert.
I'm the type of guy that comes to parties
and then disappears under mysterious circumstances.
(Laughter)
And I don't apologize for who I am; I've been like this since early childhood.
Even though I loved playing football with my mates,
I would make up excuses as to why I couldn't go out.
"Yeah, hi. Yes, sorry ... I can't go out, my cat died ...
Yes, again."
(Laughter)
The best part about that story is I have never owned a cat.
I would much rather stay inside, gather all my toys on my bed
and pretend like it was a Mars station,
pretend that if I had to step out of my bed,
I would die in Mars's toxic atmosphere.
But then high school came.
And as a typical teenager, I was dissatisfied with who I was,
so I decided to sign up for something I thought only those cool extroverts did.
I signed up to do public speaking.
My school was hosting an artist's evening where the more creative students
could show off their artwork, perform their songs,
or in my case, deliver a story.
I remember my shaky legs as I walked on the stage.
I remember my heart racing like a hummingbird.
I remember my shoes
because that was the only thing I looked at the entire time.
But after I finished and I looked up,
despite my fears, no one was angry or hostile,
they just clapped, and I thought, well, that wasn't too bad.
And ever since then, I've fallen in love with speaking on stage.
After university, I joined Toastmasters International.
I competed in several public speaking competitions,
and me, the quiet introvert, actually won a few of them.
But most importantly, through public speaking,
I got to meet some of the most interesting and intelligent people
I'll ever meet in my entire life.
And sure, most of them are big, outgoing extroverts,
but occasionally,
I will meet a fellow social astronaut who share my story,
who are also very quiet
but decided to step on stage despite their fears.
But this is the exception, not the rule.
Mostly, when you ask an introvert
to come to a social gathering or a networking event,
they just float in one of the corners.
I know. That's what I do.
But if I do meet someone like me at these events,
I force myself to go to talk to them.
So I wobble up in my big space suit, turn up my radio and say,
"H-hi, what do you do?"
(Laughter)
And they give me a stock answer, like, "Oh, you know, nothing much."
(Laughter)
You'd be surprised how much hides under the phrase "You know, nothing much."
I've heard some of the most interesting scientific ideas,
heard about professions I never knew existed,
and understood some very complicated concepts
taught to me by people who do, you know, nothing much.
Those who say the least often have the most to say.
And we've heard so many great introverts today
who shared their stories,
but it breaks my heart to think that there are so many more out there,
sitting in design offices, computer rooms, science labs,
whose minds are beaming with ideas, but who will never tell them to anybody.
Oh, sure, they'll present a boring presentation to their boss
or begrudgingly do a report for their peers,
but most of us will never get to hear their great ideas.
And what the hell is an idea worth if it is not shared?
So, my fellow introverts, I see you ...
(Laughter)
sitting calmly in your seats
knowing that there are no more breaks and you won't be forced to socialize.
(Laughter)
I implore you to take up public speaking.
Yes, it is scary, and you will feel nervous,
but everyone who gets on stage is nervous and feels scared,
even the most extroverted.
But here's the difference.
For extroverts, this is a new feeling,
but for us introverts, this is home court,
this is how we feel every time someone approaches us with a conversation.
(Laughter)
But public speaking is much better than that.
I mean, look at this:
there are at least ten meters between me and the closest person.
(Laughter)
This isn't so much of a space suit as it is a space station.
(Laughter)
Moreover, I got to spend hours writing my speech, alone.
(Laughter)
I get to speak with everyone at the same time
and not have to spend hours talking with everyone individually.
(Laughter)
Fifteen minutes - fifteen minutes, and I'm out.
(Laughter)
Oh, and there's another great thing: I only have to speak for fifteen minutes,
and then, not only am I allowed to leave, I'm expected to leave!
(Laughter)
(Applause)
It's as if public speaking was designed by introverts.
(Laughter)
I know, my dear extroverts,
I see you, squirming in your seats,
waiting for the networking event so you can make new contacts.
Don't think that this talk is geared only towards the quiet.
You have a task as well.
It is up to you to persuade your more quieter friends
to get up on stage, to speak, to inform, and to inspire.
I'm sure you know plenty of introverts,
but let's assume you don't and you want to meet an introvert in the wild.
(Laughter)
Go to events, and here's how you find and persuade your introverts.
Step one: find your target.
(Laughter)
Introverts are not difficult to find.
If you place an introvert in an empty room,
he will naturally gravitate towards a corner.
(Laughter)
It's basic physics.
(Laughter)
(Applause)
Another telltale sign is introverts spend way too much time with the host's cat,
and they're the only ones studying fire escape plans.
(Laughter)
Step two: engage your target.
Oh, and don't come up to them with your brash confidence;
we [introverts] are quiet, timid creatures,
and we are scared off very easily.
Instead, apologize to us for breaking the silence and ask us the question,
"I'm sorry, but what do you do?"
Ask follow up questions if necessary, listen, and encourage.
And step three: if you find the [introvert's] ideas interesting,
urge them to share those ideas.
"So, have you thought about joining a public speaking club?"
"So, have you heard of TEDxRiga?"
In many ways,
those who have the quietest mouths, have the loudest minds.
So I've made it my mission
to drag up every nerd, every shy person, every introvert on stage
so that they would be heard.
And it's not always easy, it's an uphill battle,
but the social astronauts are well worth it.
My favorite Latin phrase is
"ex glande quercus."
I don't know what that means ...
(Laughter)
but it's Latin, so it must be something clever.
No, it means that mighty oak trees come from humble acorns.
And it's all great and well, teaching introverts when they are adults,
but don't forget that we have classrooms full of children
in cute, tiny, little space suits
who will grow up to be introverts.
Our educational system will be more based on technology than ever,
while communication will continue to be relegated
to boring PowerPoint presentations.
These are the people who will run this century and the next,
who will become better at speaking with computers
while not really getting better at speaking with each other.
And if we don't encourage the most introverted
to open up their space suits and speak,
the professions that are dominated by introverts -
technology and engineering -
will become less influential, less understood, and less popular,
and as a result, all of us will lose out.
But it doesn't have to be like this.
Look, we can encourage the shyest out of our midst to speak,
and in doing so, our entire collective understanding will improve.
If there's one small thing you've learned from today's brave speakers,
it's that the public speaking in its essence is really human.
Sharing stories is human, listening to stories is human,
and by doing so, we all get a bit more human.
So, my fellow social astronauts,
I know that public speaking is hard.
But it is also important.
No one can share your ideas for you, no one can tell your stories for you;
you must make this journey,
and there will be plenty of people willing to help.
Learn from those introverts
who were brave enough to step on this stage today.
And you do not have to stop being an introvert.
Wear that space suit with pride and never take it off.
All you have to do is turn up your radio and speak to the world.
And the world will stop and listen.
To you.
(Applause)