The Quiet Warrior Podcast with Serena Low
Are you an introvert who is tired of hearing that you're too quiet, need to speak up more, or that you lack executive presence and are not ready for promotion?
Your host is Serena Low, and her life’s purpose is to help quiet achievers become Quiet Warriors who can speak - lead - and act decisively when called upon, without changing the essence of who you are.
As a trauma-informed introvert coach, certified Root-Cause Therapy practitioner, certified Social + Emotional Intelligence Coach, and author of the Amazon Bestseller, The Hero Within: Reinvent Your Life One New Chapter at a Time, Serena is passionate about helping introverts and quiet achievers minimise:
- imposter syndrome,
- overthinking,
- perfectionism,
- low self-worth,
- people pleasing,
- fear of public speaking,
and other common introvert challenges.
Tune in every week for practical tips and inspirational stories about how to thrive as an introvert in a noisy and overstimulating world.
The Quiet Warrior Podcast with Serena Low
37. How to put yourself out there as an introvert (with Nancy Yang)
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Two ideas that have inspired Nancy:
- Have fun losing face
- There’s no shame showing my work if I’m doing a great job
Nancy’s journey to being more outspoken
Career progression is seldom linear
Why is it that when put on the spot, the words don’t come?
- Introverts are deep thinkers and take extra time to process and prepare our responses
- Fear of being judged, fear of criticism - “Mental S.O.S.”
- Self-doubt / Impostor Syndrome
- Overthinking mistakes and failures and potential disastrous consequences
- Self-criticism - introverts criticize themselves before other critics do
Why psychological safety is essential for introverts
How do we overcome the tendency to overthink and criticize ourselves
How to counter the tendency to ask “What if?” and imagine the worst-case scenario
- Say to yourself: So what? (e.g. so what if I flub the presentation? At least I learned something and next time I will do better)
- Ask yourself: Is it true? (e.g. will I lose my job because I flubbed the presentation? Highly unlikely)
Being a perfectionist is not unique to introverts
How can introverts be their authentic selves when speaking and communicating
- Make sure you know your compelling why for speaking
- Introverts can speak and inspire (Brene Brown)
- Desensitization: challenge yourself one step at a time, don’t scare yourself
- Practise by yourself. Video yourself speaking on your phone about your chosen topic - listen to the recording (audio only) and observe your tonality and use of filler words. Then watch the video (without the audio) and notice your body language and what you can improve
- Practise with others (start with friends, then expand to strangers)
- Practise in real life
Flipping “What if” to a positive reframe:
What if I engage the audience really well?
How do introverts speak up and get noticed in meetings at work?
- Prepare a question or comment
- Volunteer to be the minute-taker or timekeeper
- Use your body language to lean in to the table or the Zoom screen
- Speak up as early as possible
References:
Nancy Yang, The Nine Secrets of a Social and Confident Introvert
About Nancy Yang:
Nancy helps introverts with Asian background communicate assertively with confidence and build a strong social network.
Connect with Nancy:
https://linktr.ee/nancyyangbiz
This episode was edited by Aura House Productions