In ALL his intro to psych classes and a lot of his English classes--he helped hundreds of introverts become more outgoing and confident socially.
The first day of class, he'd say that IF they were shy and wanted to remain shy--they needed to take a different prof.
He structured the seating in a horseshoe no more than 3 rows deep.
The first 20 minutes students filled out "attendance cards" which were 4 X 6" cards with 8-10 questions. The rest of the 20 min was Qx interacting with students regarding their responses to the questions. The questions were about the chapter of the text but mostly also about relationship stuff.
Qx always had the highest student eval scores. Students said his class was the only fun one; or the only worthwhile class; the only practical class etc.
NONE of the shy students in all those classes left with their shyness being such a dominant feature of their life as it had been at the beginning of the semester. Such students were freely asking questions and volunteering comments by the end of the semester.
In short, for 30+ years, Qx proved your assertions above very inaccurate.
I’m afraid shyness and introversion are quite different.
I agree that shyness can be overcome. Introversion is a preference for solitude, at present it is being defined as a person who recharges and relaxes best alone while an extrovert recharges and relaxes best with others. Introverts can be shy or not. Shy people can be extroverts waiting to be freed or introverts who can be helped to be more comfortable with groups but will remain introverts.
NONE of the shy students in all those classes left with their shyness being such a dominant feature of their life as it had been at the beginning of the semester. Such students were freely asking questions and volunteering comments by the end of the semester.
In short, for 30+ years, Qx proved your assertions above very inaccurate.
Sorry Jocko, there is no such thing as a "former introvert." I retired from Verizon after 40 years in telecommunications as a PMI® and ITIL® certified program and project manager. I worked on several global accounts and communicated daily with individuals all over the world, including China, Vietnam, and Russia. For a couple of years, I was our lead contact for one account headquartered in Germany with locations in thirty seven countries. I have no problem speaking to everyone I encounter around town and as a matter of fact, I truly enjoy talking to those I meet and often introduce myself after a few minutes of conversation. I still know in my soul I am an introvert. After taking the Myers–Briggs Personality Survey and Keirsey Temperament Sorter evaluation, I came to understand that Jungian psychology seems to provide a good interpretation of the way my brain is wired.
Extraversion and introversion are typically viewed as a single continuum, so to be high in one necessitates being low in the other. Carl Jung and the developers of the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator provide a different perspective and suggest that everyone has both an extraverted side and an introverted side, with one being more dominant than the other. Rather than focusing on interpersonal behavior, however, Jung defined introversion as an "attitude-type characterised by orientation in life through subjective psychic contents" (focus on one's inner psychic activity) and extraversion as "an attitude type characterised by concentration of interest on the external object" (focus on the outside world).[3]Mistaking introversion for shyness is a common error. Introversion is a preference, while shyness stems from distress. Introverts prefer solitary to social activities, but do not necessarily fear social encounters like shy people do.[10] Susan Cain argues in Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking that modern Western culture misjudges the capabilities of introverted people, leading to a waste of talent, energy and happiness.[11] Cain describes how society is biased against introverts, and that, with people being taught from childhood that to be sociable is to be happy, introversion is now considered "somewhere between a disappointment and pathology".[12] In contrast, Cain says that introversion is not a "second-class" trait but that both introverts and extroverts enrich society, with examples including the introverts J. K. Rowling, Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Seuss, W. B. Yeats, Steven Spielberg and Larry Page.[12]
Pardon me for linking to Wikipedia but that was the quickest and most concise source.