Shy: How Being Quiet Can Lead to Success

Being shy is often seen as a character flaw, but Annie Ridout argues that it can be a gift. She explores why some people are more shy than others and offers tools to help them deal with it. Shyness can lead to being an excellent listener, speaker, and observer, and it can be a pathway to success and happiness.

Format: Hardback
Length: 208 pages
Publication date: 15 April 2021
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Society often tells us that being shy is a fault, but Annie Ridout argues that it is, in fact, a gift. Shy: How Being Quiet Can Lead to Success teaches us how to embrace this misjudged attribute rather than trying to fix it.

Most of us have some understanding of shyness. From childhood birthday parties to adult office Christmas parties, from old friends' weddings to group presentations, we have all experienced it in some form or another. Shyness may be ever-present or it may come and go.

Partly genetic, partly environmental, shyness is largely viewed as a character flaw, something that needs to change. However, why is no one talking about the benefits of being shy? For example, shyness usually equates to being an excellent listener, considerate speaker, and thoughtful observer.

Interweaving personal experience with expertise from clinical psychologists, Annie explores why shyness affects some more than others and offers tried-and-tested tools to help the reader deal with elements of shyness that can feel debilitating. Shy recasts our understanding of this often-misunderstood attribute, celebrating it as a pathway rather than a barrier to success and happiness.

Weight: 304g
Dimension: 145 x 212 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780008401221