Psychologists usually offer three explanations for the failure of group brainstorming. The first is social loafing: in a group, some individuals tend to sit back and let others do the work. The second is production blocking: only one person can talk or produce an idea at once, while the other group members are forced to sit passively. And the third is evaluation apprehension, meaning the fear of looking stupid in front of one's peers.

Introverts need to trust their gut and share their ideas as powerfully as they can.

In most job interviews, people say they are looking for people skills and emotional intelligence. That's reasonable, but the question is, how do you define what that looks like?

The purpose of school should be to prepare kids for the rest of their lives, but too often what kids need to be prepared for is surviving the school day itself.

I get a lot of letters from introverts asking how they can meet people. The key is to make sure that you are doing things you enjoy.

I prefer listening to talking, reading to socializing... I like to think before I speak (softly).

Solitude matters. And for some people it's the air they breathe.