TED英语演讲稿：内向性格的力量

　　Now this is what many introverts do， and it's our loss for sure， but it is also our colleagues' loss and our communities' loss。 And at the risk of sounding grandiose， it is the world's loss。 Because when it comes to creativity and to leadership， we need introverts doing what they do best。 A third to a half of the population are introverts —— a third to a half。 So that's one out of every two or three people you know。 So even if you're an extrovert yourself， I'm talking about your coworkers and your spouses and your childrenand the person sitting next to you right now —— all of them subject to this bias that is pretty deep and real in our society。 We all internalize it from a very early age without even having a language for what we're doing。

　　这就是很多内向的人正在做的事情 这当然是我们的损失 但这同样也是同事们的损失 我们所在团队集体的损失 当然，冒着被指为夸大其词的风险我想说，更是世界的损失 因为当涉及创造和领导的时候 我们需要内向的人做到最好 三分之一到二分之一的人都是内向的—— 三分之一到二分之一 你要知道这可意味着每两到三个人中就有一个内向的 所以即使你自己是一个外向的人 我正在说你的同事 和你的配偶和你的孩子 还有现在正坐在你旁边的那个家伙—— 他们都要屈从于这样的偏见 一种在我们的社会中已经扎根的现实偏见 我们从很小的时候就把它藏在内心最深处 甚至都不说几句话，关于我们正在做的事情。

　　Now to see the bias clearly you need to understand what introversion is。 It's different from being shy。 Shyness is about fear of social judgment。 Introversion is more about， how do you respond to stimulation， including social stimulation。 So extroverts really crave large amounts of stimulation， whereas introverts feel at their most alive and their most switched—on and their most capable when they're in quieter， more low—key environments。Not all the time —— these things aren't absolute —— but a lot of the time。 So the key then to maximizing our talents is for us all to put ourselves in the zone of stimulation that is right for us。

　　现在让我们来清楚地看待这种偏见 我们需要真正了解“内向”到底指什么 它和害羞是不同的 害羞是对于社会评论的恐惧 内向更多的是 你怎样对于刺激作出回应 包括来自社会的刺激 其实内向的人是很渴求大量的鼓舞和激励的 反之内向者最感觉到他们的存在 这是他们精力最充足的时候，最具有能力的时候 当他们存在于更安静的，更低调的环境中 并不是所有时候——这些事情都不是绝对的—— 但是存在于很多时候 所以说，关键在于 把我们的天赋发挥到最大化 这对于我们来说就足够把我们自己 放到对于我们正确又合适的激励的区域中去

　　But now here's where the bias comes in。 Our most important institutions， our schools and our workplaces， they are designed mostly for extroverts and for extroverts' need for lots of stimulation。 And also we have this belief system right now that I call the new groupthink，which holds that all creativity and all productivity comes from a very oddly gregarious place。

　　但是现在偏见出现了 我们最重要的那些体系 我们的学校和工作单位 它们都是为性格外向者设计的 并且有适合他们需要的刺激和鼓励 当然我们现在也有这样一种信用机制 我称它为新型的“团队思考” 这是一种包含所有创造力和生产力的思考方式 从一个社交非常零散的地方产生的

　　So if you picture the typical classroom nowadays： When I was going to school， we sat in rows。 We sat in rows of desks like this， and we did most of our work pretty autonomously。But nowadays， your typical classroom has pods of desks —— four or five or six or seven kids all facing each other。 And kids are working in countless group assignments。 Even in subjects like math and creative writing， which you think would depend on solo flights of thought， kids are now expected to act as committee members。 And for the kids who preferto go off by themselves or just to work alone， those kids are seen as outliers often or， worse， as problem cases。 And the vast majority of teachers reports believing that the ideal student is an extrovert as opposed to an introvert， even though introverts actually get better grades and are more knowledgeable， according to research。 （Laughter）

　　当你描绘今天典型教室的图案时 当我还上学的时候 我们一排排地坐着 我们靠着桌子一排排坐着就像这样 并且我们大多数工作都是自觉完成的 但是在现代社会，所谓典型的教室 是些圈起来并排的桌子—— 四个或是五个或是六、七个孩子坐在一起，面对面 孩子们要完成无数个小组任务 甚至像数学和创意写作这些课程 这些你们认为需要依靠个人闪光想法的课程 孩子们现在却被期待成为小组会的成员 对于那些喜欢 独处，或者自己一个人工作的孩子来说 这些孩子常常被视为局外人 或者更糟，被视为问题孩子 并且很大一部分老师的报告中都相信 最理想的学生应该是外向的 相对于内向的学生而言 甚至说外向的学生能够取得更好的成绩 更加博学多识据研究报道 （笑声）

　　Okay， same thing is true in our workplaces。 Now， most of us work in open plan offices，without walls， where we are subject to the constant noise and gaze of our coworkers。 And when it comes to leadership， introverts are routinely passed over for leadership positions，even though introverts tend to be very careful， much less likely to take outsize risks ——which is something we might all favor nowadays。 And interesting research by Adam Grant at the Wharton School has found that introverted leaders often deliver better outcomes than extroverts do， because when they are managing proactive employees， they're much more likely to let those employees run with their ideas， whereas an extrovert can， quite unwittingly， get so excited about things that they're putting their own stamp on things， and other people's ideas might not as easily then bubble up to the surface。