You’re an introvert. You do your best work when you can think a problem through alone in a quiet space. You express yourself better in writing or when you have a heads up before a meeting. But your company is cool! So your office resembles a sweatshop: large rows of desks squished into a concrete room with minimal sound deadening. And you company culture encourages team work! So anyone can call you or stop by your desk with immediate requests of varying levels of emergency. You’re always being put on the spot, only later to think of who would be best qualified to answer the question, what a better solution might be, or where an inefficiency could be eliminated. In my talk, I’ll frame my learnings from Quiet by Susan Cain and Introvert Power by Laurie Helgoe with personal experiences about how to function effectively in offices unfriendly to introverts. I’ll explore how American culture rewards those who speak the most over those who have something to say.

1. Succeeding as an Introvert
Elizabeth Zagroba | October 11, 2017

2. Outline
A bit about you and me.
What makes me an introvert?
Why being an introvert helps me as a tester.
How to succeed as an introvert.

3. A bit about you and me.

4. OMG seriously thank you
Mark Tomlinson
Martin Hynie
Keith Klain
Susan Cain
Lauren Helgoe
Extroverts who make me uncomfortable

5. Ok really about you this
timeWhere did you want to be when you grew up?
Where are you in your element?

6. INSERT PHOTO ON TOP
Oh dear me
Tester
Mindmapper
Questioner
Listener
Introvert

7. What makes me an
introvert?

14. Why being an introvert
helps me as a tester.

25. How to succeed
as an introvert.

26. Introverts
Treat
others
how they
want to be
treated.
Extroverts
Ask for
what you
need.

35. Back to you finally
Where did you want to be when you grew up?
Where are you in your element?

36. INSERT PHOTO ON TOP
Terribly sorry, me
again
Writer
Alone at home

37. Thank you
Find me on the internet
Twitter: @ezagroba
Medium: @ezagroba

38. Connect with me
Twitter: @ezagroba
Medium: @ezagroba
Ministry of Testing Slack: @ez
Testing Community Slack: @ez
https://elizabethzagroba.com

39. References
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by
Susan Cain
Introvert Power: Why Your Inner Life Is Your Hidden Strength
by Lauren Helgoe
“Introverts in Agile” by Katrina Clokie
“This is the Scientific Explanation for Why Introverts Like Being Alone” by
Jenn Granneman