Welcome to the Broad Experience, the show about women, the workplace and success.

I'm Ashley Melmtete, this time on the show.

Although being extroverted wasn't, I would say required to be good at the job.

It was certainly something that was really strongly valued.

Introverts can feel awkward in the modern workplace and judged, perhaps women more so than men.

So I think a quiet man, it's like, oh, he's thinking, or he's introspective, or he's deep.

And a quiet woman is shy or afraid or you're not confident, you need to have more confidence in

yourself. Coming up, introverts at the office, how to survive in an extrovert world and when to

accept you just don't fit in. Beth B. Lowe lives in Tacoma, Washington.

She's a coach and a writer who works with introverts, particularly people who work for themselves.

I discovered her through her podcast, The Introvert Entrepreneur.

She's also the author of a new book called The Introvert

Entrepreneur, Amplify Your Strength and Create Success on Your Own Terms. But this whole introvert for a

living thing, it didn't start till later in life. She's a classically trained musician, and for

years she worked in the arts and for non-profits. Before that, she was just a little girl who enjoyed her own company.

I think I always knew that I was not as outgoing, not as social as some of the other kids,

but like a lot of introverts, I just thought I was shy.

And that's often the label that adults will put on you when they see that you're not necessarily naturally

reaching out to lots of people. They'll say, oh, she's just shy. And frankly, when I discovered

music in sixth grade, you know, somebody put a clarinet in my hands, and that became my identity.

So I was able to, I don't want to say, hide behind it because it was actually what helped me to

come out of my shell.

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