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Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can ... - WordPress.com

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high-reactive nervous system. One theory,based on the writ<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>of</strong> the sociobiologistE. O. Wilson, holds thatwhen our ancestors lived on the savannah,be<strong>in</strong>g watched <strong>in</strong>tently meant onlyone th<strong>in</strong>g: a wild animal was stalk<strong>in</strong>gus. And when we th<strong>in</strong>k we’re about tobe eaten, do we stand tall and holdforth confidently? No. We run. In otherwords, hundreds <strong>of</strong> thousands <strong>of</strong> years<strong>of</strong> evolution urge us to get the hell <strong>of</strong>fthe stage, where we can mistake thegaze <strong>of</strong> the spectators for the gl<strong>in</strong>t <strong>in</strong> apredator’s eye. Yet the audience expectsnot only that we’ll stay put, but thatwe’ll act relaxed and assured. This conflictbetween biology and protocol isone reason that speechmak<strong>in</strong>g can beso fraught. It’s also why exhortations toimag<strong>in</strong>e the audience <strong>in</strong> the nude don’thelp nervous speakers; naked lions are315/929

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