About this episode
Jessica Pan spent a year extroverting, and then wrote a delightful book about it! Jessica and I chat about her new book Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come: One Introvert’s Year of Saying Yes, and how her life changed in the process.
Jessica Pan is a journalist whose work has appeared in the Guardian’s Weekend magazine, The Cut, Refinery29, and Vice, among others. She has a degree in psychology from Brown University and is the coauthor of Graduates in Wonderland, an epistolary memoir about living in Beijing and Paris. She previously worked as a TV reporter and magazine editor in Beijing and now lives in London.
Highlights from the podcast
2:00 Her introvert superpower
4:00 Her motivation for writing the book
9:20 Can you be a shy introversion and desire adventure?
11:45 The most rewarding experience in Jess’s year of extrovert
13:00 Surface talk versus deep talk
15:10 Tips for introverts for going deeper in a conversation
18:35 How to stay engaged in a boring conversation
20:00 What it was like to write this book
21:30 Tips for first-time writers
27:00 The importance of going out into the world versus waiting for it to come to you
27:40 Tips for introverts who want to live a bigger life