Susan Cain

Cain explained that if she were not a writer she would want to be a research psychologist.[13] Cain's interest in writing about introversion reportedly stemmed from her own difficulties with public speaking, which made Harvard Law School "a trial".[11]

While still an attorney, Cain noticed that others at her firm were putting personality traits like hers to good use in the profession, and that gender per se did not explain those traits.[14] She eventually realized that the concepts of introversion and extroversion provided the "language for talking about questions of identity" that had been lacking.[14]

Cain explained that in writing Quiet she was fueled by the passion and indignation that she imagined fueled the 1963 feminist book, The Feminine Mystique.[13] Cain likened Introverts today to women at that time—second-class citizens with gigantic amounts of untapped talent.[13] Saying that most introverts aren't aware of how they are constantly spending their time in ways that they would prefer not to be and have been doing so all their lives, Cain explained that she was trying to give people entitlement in their own minds to be who they are.[15]

Cain said she was interested in working with parents and teachers of introverted children and to re-shape workplace culture and design, and in particular replace what she terms "The New Groupthink" with an environment more conducive to deep thought and solo reflection.[13]

Cain speaking at the TED2012 conference ("not my natural milieu") with a prop suitcase,[16][17] which was said to be a metaphor for the treasures, memories, activities and thoughts that make you you.[18] Cain's own suitcase contained books.[16][17]

Cain, a self-described[19] introvert, had grappled with her own introversion as a Wall Street attorney before writing Quiet.[12] In contrast, Cain described the time of creating Quiet—seven years of reading, researching, and thinking—as "total bliss".[16][17] Initially concerned that the book would be merely a "highly idiosyncratic project", she found instead that New York book publishers engaged in a bidding war.[9]

Seven years in the making,[2] Cain's book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, was published January 24, 2012.[20]

Cain wrote that her year of preparation before her February 2012 TED talk had unfolded in "three stages of accelerating dread",[21] so she joined Toastmasters and scheduled a two-hour crash course with TED's speaking coach.[21] But saying her butterflies had turned into "gut-wrenching knots", Cain worked for six full days with an acting coach immediately before the talk.[21] Three months after the talk, Cain confirmed her April 2011 prediction that the ensuing year would be her Year of Speaking Dangerously,[22] writing that she had metamorphosed into what she termed an "impossibly oxymoronic creature: the Public Introvert".[21] The Atlantic's Megan Garber remarked that the ideas spread by TED are becoming defined by the persona of the speaker who presents them, citing Cain in particular as representing the idea of the power of introversion in an extrovert-optimized world.[23] Chris Weller quipped in Business Insider that Cain had become "the patron saint of introverts".[24]

Within one week of its publication, Forbes' Jenna Goudreau noted that Quiet was featured by several major media outlets and was shared extensively across the Web, Goudreau observing that readers said they felt validated and seen for the first time.[25] Cain spoke at leadership, management, training and education conferences throughout the U.S. and internationally.[26] InformationWeek's Debra Donston-Miller had noted that the idea of introversion and extroversion was being widely discussed due in large part to media coverage of Quiet.[27]

Within a year of her first TED talk, Cain had formed an online public speaking and communication class for introverts, said to emphasize authenticity over showmanship.[28]

Cain collaborates with Steelcase to design office spaces to include quiet areas where workers can have privacy for a time, in contrast to open plan offices.[24][29]

In 2016, Cain co-authored Quiet Power: The Secret Strengths of Introverts, which focused on introverted children and teens, the book also directed to their educators and parents.[30]

In 2018, Cain began co-curating the Next Big Idea Club with Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant, and Daniel Pink, focusing on books about psychology, business, happiness, and productivity.[31]

On March 31, 2020, Cain published Quiet Journal: Discover Your Secret Strengths and Unleash Your Inner Power, a journal with a first section directed to self-assessment, and a second section for applying that self-knowledge and prompting action.[32]

Cain's second TED talk (2014) formally announced the Quiet Revolution—a "venture backed, mission-based" organization for transforming office architecture to combat the erosion of focus and privacy in modern offices, forming a Quiet Leadership Institute to help organizations train introverted leaders, and empowering quiet children.[24][33] The organization focuses on areas including children, life, and the workplace, while providing training programs and learning tools for client organizations to use in managing employees.[34] More specifically, the organization formed an online education course for parents, a co-branded lifestyle section in The Huffington Post, a podcast, a website to support a community including writers and advocates, and young-adult books and shows whose heroines are quiet leaders.[35] Quiet Revolution implemented a Quiet Ambassador initiative, for which it trained volunteers to be embedded in schools, businesses and other participating organizations.[9]