WEBVTT

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Imagine an unlikely story.

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One day, you get a knock on your door,

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and as you open it, you see a bunch
of official looking people in uniforms

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who say that you have been chosen

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to represent your country
in the next space mission.

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And before you can say a word,

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you get dragged to a car,
driven to the launch pad,

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put in a tight space suit,
and fired into space.

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How would you feel
in that tight space suit?

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How would you feel spending months
in a lonely space capsule?

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Some of you would feel trapped,
enclosed in that little space,

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unable to communicate
with the rest of the world.

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While others would feel
the complete opposite:

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you'd feel safe, as if the whole
of space couldn't hurt you.

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Nowadays, we call that second
group of people introverts

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because in many ways,
introverts feel like social astronauts.

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Whenever they engage
in a social conversation,

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they feel like they are
on a hostile planet,

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and they need to wear a social space suit

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in order for there to be a layer
between them and the rest of the world.

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In fact, if they could put on
an actual space suit

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and come to parties dressed like that
so they wouldn't have to talk to people,

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they'd do it.

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Moreover, if they had a choice to come
to your party or be shot into space,

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they'd be shot into space.

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I myself grew up as a quiet child,
so very predictably, I became an engineer.

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That is right, ladies and gentlemen,

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I spent five years of university
just to become a stereotype.

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But somewhere along the line,
I also got a love for public speaking,

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being on stage.

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So a typical workday would be
hours of silence, sitting at a computer,

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and then in the evening,
I'd have to entertain an audience.

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And when people find out
about this seemingly dual life of mine,

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they act surprised, and honestly,
I find it a bit patronizing.

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As if people are saying,

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"Oh, so you not only generate ideas
in that little basement

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but also crawl out into the sunlight
and present those ideas?

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How fascinating!"

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But I know they mean well;

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I know they only mean that it's surprising

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that someone could like
something for introverts

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but also like something for extroverts.

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But this is where I think
they get it wrong:

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in assuming that public speaking
is only meant for extroverts.

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I myself, I'm your bog standard,
run-of-the-mill,

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ready-made, factory-produced,
stereotypical introvert.

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I'm the type of guy that comes to parties

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and then disappears
under mysterious circumstances.

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(Laughter)

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And I don't apologize for who I am;
I've been like this since early childhood.

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Even though I loved
playing football with my mates,

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I would make up excuses
as to why I couldn't go out.

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"Yeah, hi. Yes, sorry ...
I can't go out, my cat died ...

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Yes, again."

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(Laughter)

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The best part about that story
is I have never owned a cat.

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I would much rather stay inside,
gather all my toys on my bed

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and pretend like it was a Mars station,

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pretend that if I had
to step out of my bed,

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I would die in Mars's toxic atmosphere.

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But then high school came.

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And as a typical teenager,
I was dissatisfied with who I was,

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so I decided to sign up for something
I thought only those cool extroverts did.

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I signed up to do public speaking.

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My school was hosting an artist's evening
where the more creative students

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could show off their artwork,
perform their songs,

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or in my case, deliver a story.

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I remember my shaky legs
as I walked on the stage.

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I remember my heart
racing like a hummingbird.

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I remember my shoes

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because that was the only thing
I looked at the entire time.

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But after I finished and I looked up,

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despite my fears,
no one was angry or hostile,

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they just clapped, and I thought,
well, that wasn't too bad.

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And ever since then, I've fallen in love
with speaking on stage.

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After university, I joined
Toastmasters International.

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I competed in several
public speaking competitions,

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and me, the quiet introvert,
actually won a few of them.

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But most importantly,
through public speaking,

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I got to meet some of the most
interesting and intelligent people

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I'll ever meet in my entire life.

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And sure, most of them
are big, outgoing extroverts,

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but occasionally,

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I will meet a fellow social astronaut
who share my story,

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who are also very quiet

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but decided to step on stage
despite their fears.

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But this is the exception, not the rule.

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Mostly, when you ask an introvert

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to come to a social gathering
or a networking event,

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they just float in one of the corners.

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I know. That's what I do.

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But if I do meet someone
like me at these events,

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I force myself to go to talk to them.

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So I wobble up in my big space suit,
turn up my radio and say,

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"H-hi, what do you do?"

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(Laughter)

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And they give me a stock answer, like,
"Oh, you know, nothing much."

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(Laughter)

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You'd be surprised how much hides
under the phrase "You know, nothing much."

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I've heard some of the most
interesting scientific ideas,

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heard about professions
I never knew existed,

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and understood some
very complicated concepts

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taught to me by people
who do, you know, nothing much.

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Those who say the least
often have the most to say.

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And we've heard so many
great introverts today

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who shared their stories,

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but it breaks my heart to think
that there are so many more out there,

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sitting in design offices,
computer rooms, science labs,

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whose minds are beaming with ideas,
but who will never tell them to anybody.

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Oh, sure, they'll present
a boring presentation to their boss

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or begrudgingly
do a report for their peers,

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but most of us will never
get to hear their great ideas.

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And what the hell is an idea worth
if it is not shared?

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So, my fellow introverts, I see you ...

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(Laughter)

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sitting calmly in your seats

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knowing that there are no more breaks
and you won't be forced to socialize.

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(Laughter)

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I implore you to take up public speaking.

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Yes, it is scary,
and you will feel nervous,

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but everyone who gets on stage
is nervous and feels scared,

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even the most extroverted.

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But here's the difference.

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For extroverts, this is a new feeling,

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but for us introverts,
this is home court,

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this is how we feel every time someone
approaches us with a conversation.

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(Laughter)

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But public speaking
is much better than that.

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I mean, look at this:

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there are at least ten meters
between me and the closest person.

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(Laughter)

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This isn't so much of a space suit
as it is a space station.

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(Laughter)

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Moreover, I got to spend hours
writing my speech, alone.

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(Laughter)

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I get to speak with everyone
at the same time

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and not have to spend hours
talking with everyone individually.

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(Laughter)

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Fifteen minutes -
fifteen minutes, and I'm out.

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(Laughter)

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Oh, and there's another great thing:
I only have to speak for fifteen minutes,

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and then, not only am I allowed to leave,
I'm expected to leave!

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(Laughter)

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(Applause)

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It's as if public speaking
was designed by introverts.

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(Laughter)

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I know, my dear extroverts,

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I see you, squirming in your seats,

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waiting for the networking event
so you can make new contacts.

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Don't think that this talk is geared
only towards the quiet.

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You have a task as well.

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It is up to you to persuade
your more quieter friends

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to get up on stage, to speak,
to inform, and to inspire.

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I'm sure you know plenty of introverts,

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but let's assume you don't and you want
to meet an introvert in the wild.

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(Laughter)

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Go to events, and here's how you find
and persuade your introverts.

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Step one: find your target.

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(Laughter)

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Introverts are not difficult to find.

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If you place an introvert
in an empty room,

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he will naturally gravitate
towards a corner.

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(Laughter)

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It's basic physics.

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(Laughter)

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(Applause)

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Another telltale sign is introverts spend
way too much time with the host's cat,

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and they're the only ones
studying fire escape plans.

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(Laughter)

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Step two: engage your target.

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Oh, and don't come up to them
with your brash confidence;

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we [introverts] are quiet,
timid creatures,

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and we are scared off very easily.

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Instead, apologize to us for breaking
the silence and ask us the question,

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"I'm sorry, but what do you do?"

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Ask follow up questions if necessary,
listen, and encourage.

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And step three: if you find
the [introvert's] ideas interesting,

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urge them to share those ideas.

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"So, have you thought about joining
a public speaking club?"

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"So, have you heard of TEDxRiga?"

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In many ways,

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those who have the quietest mouths,
have the loudest minds.

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So I've made it my mission

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to drag up every nerd,
every shy person, every introvert on stage

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so that they would be heard.

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And it's not always easy,
it's an uphill battle,

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but the social astronauts
are well worth it.

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My favorite Latin phrase is

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"ex glande quercus."

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I don't know what that means ...

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(Laughter)

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but it's Latin, so it must be
something clever.

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No, it means that mighty oak trees
come from humble acorns.

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And it's all great and well,
teaching introverts when they are adults,

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but don't forget that we have
classrooms full of children

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in cute, tiny, little space suits

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who will grow up to be introverts.

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Our educational system will be
more based on technology than ever,

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while communication
will continue to be relegated

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to boring PowerPoint presentations.

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These are the people who will run
this century and the next,

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who will become better
at speaking with computers

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while not really getting better
at speaking with each other.

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And if we don't encourage
the most introverted

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to open up their space suits and speak,

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the professions that are
dominated by introverts -

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technology and engineering -

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will become less influential,
less understood, and less popular,

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and as a result, all of us will lose out.

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But it doesn't have to be like this.

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Look, we can encourage
the shyest out of our midst to speak,

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and in doing so, our entire
collective understanding will improve.

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If there's one small thing you've learned
from today's brave speakers,

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it's that the public speaking
in its essence is really human.

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Sharing stories is human,
listening to stories is human,

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and by doing so,
we all get a bit more human.

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So, my fellow social astronauts,

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I know that public speaking is hard.

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But it is also important.

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No one can share your ideas for you,
no one can tell your stories for you;

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you must make this journey,

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and there will be plenty
of people willing to help.

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Learn from those introverts

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who were brave enough
to step on this stage today.

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And you do not have to stop
being an introvert.

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Wear that space suit with pride
and never take it off.

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All you have to do is turn up
your radio and speak to the world.

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And the world will stop and listen.

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To you.

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(Applause)