How do you survive the MBA as an introvert? Kevin Hou, MBA Candidate 26 has some suggestions. This post is adapted from a speech prepared for the Communications course in the first year.
Imagine this: you are at a big party. You don’t know anyone there. The music is loud. People are packed shoulder to shoulder, making it virtually impossible for you to move. And it seems like everyone else is regaling epic stories or laughing at an inside joke that only you seemed to have missed. What do you do? Do you regret attending this event? Do you find any excuse to retreat to the comforts of your own, quiet apartment. Or maybe, do you put on a fake smile and muster up all your energy to be a person you are not.
These sentiments may be examples of an introvert. Introverts may not exclusively just prefer to spend time alone. There are many more aspects included on the introversion side of human personality theory, first coined by Carl Jung1. For example, introverts may also prefer to listen more than they talk. They may favor depth over breadth. And they may keep enthusiasm and celebration to themselves instead of announcing it to everyone else.
Therefore, you may begin to perceive a disadvantage for introverts in the MBA world, where being first is often rewarded and case methods require spotlight to quick wit. So, how do you survive an MBA as an introvert?
It’s not easy being an introvert in a Communications course!
I was challenged to provide a solution to this problem in one of the first courses of my MBA program: Communications. The course trains the soft skills of public speaking, coincidentally most introvert’s worst nightmare. From the intensive practicals, resulting in the preparation and delivery of 10 speeches within 5 days, I not only reached a new level of my oratory abilities, but I also explored meaningful topics for each type of speech: Logos, Problem-Solution, Storytelling, Ethos and Pathos.
Here are my suggestions for an introvert’s survival guide to the MBA.
Survival Tip #1: Leverage Your Ear
As an introvert, the first strategy to survive the MBA is to tap into your greatest skill: genuine listening. You can leverage a natural ability to inquire, probe, and remember conversations with other people. This leaves a memorable impression. Affirmed by Dale Carnegie in his best-selling book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” having a genuine interest in someone and encouraging that person to talk about themselves are two key principles to influence other people3. Who doesn’t love to talk about themselves? Take the “long view” to friendships by building sustainable relationships for many years after the MBA program.
Survival Tip #2: Pick Your Social Battles
Next, you must pick the social battles you are willing to confront. In the buffet of MBA experiences, “FOMO” (fear of missing out) is a common individual feeling (and maybe even a social expectation). The temptation of the introvert, however, is to fall into a default of “JOMO” or the “joy of missing out” and reject invited social events. But how do you expect to personally and professionally grow without stepping into new changes? So, as natural introverts, it is not good to skip out on every social event to stay at home after class. I hate to break it to you, but you will have to attend some networking events.
However, you don’t have to attend them all. One of the best skills the MBA trains us is about prioritization: what are you willing to say “yes” to, and what are you willing to say “no” to. So, it is okay to not attend the house party this weekend. However, it is equally important to choose specific social settings that you believe will challenge and grow you as an individual. Susan Cain, an American writer and lecturer, writes in her book “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that can’t Stop Talking” about self-monitoring4. Self-Monitoring is the way you alter your personality to fit a situation. This masterwork skill is important for everyone, but especially important for introverts. When you are present in a situation, ask yourself: “Do I see value here to practice my extroversion skill?” The more you train this in your defined spaces, the more natural you can switch on and switch off your extroversion self.
With my peers and instructor in the Communication Course, we challenged each other and improved our public speaking skills!
Survival Tip #3: Be Known for Something
Finally, the last survival tip is to find something that you are known for. Many introverts may feel overwhelmed by their extroverted classmates who may dominate group discussions or seem to always have something to say. However, remember that you got into MBA for a reason. There is a uniqueness about you and your skills – and introversion is part of who you are. Introverts may find themselves self-doubting, habitually disqualifying themselves as “I’m no expert as this” or “my story won’t be as interesting as theirs.” Verbalizing these doubts in front of others may be your act of humility, but it can also subconsciously undermine your knowledge and capabilities. A Harvard Business Review article entitled “An Introvert’s Guide to Visibility In the Workplace” offers a more assertive speech to establish your presence and expertise5. For example,
- Instead of admitting “this may not be right, say…” try to say: “another approach could be…”
- Rather than “this is my opinion…”, you can also use: “based on my understanding…”
- Or for “sorry if this is off topic, but…”, choose “let’s broaden our perspective and think about…”
By establishing yourself as the go-to person for something (whether it is financial accounting or yoga), others will associate and remember you among the crowd.
Survive the MBA
So, if you are an introvert at MBA, try these three survival tips in the plethora of new experiences. And equally, if you are a natural extrovert, remember your introvert classmates. Initiate invites to join you on your adventures. Appreciate their intimacy. And use their probing questions to verbally process your own thoughts.
Introverts may not be the most fun or the loudest person in the social group, but they are just as valuable, effective, and knowledgeable to you and your MBA experience.
So, introverts: what better place to practice these skills than in the laboratory of the MBA? Yes, there will be awkward conversations. And yes, you will get fleeting whims of doom and regret at an event. But I encourage you to step into these skills little by little, day by day. And remember it is okay to take a break and retreat to a quiet Friday night once in a while.
Written by Kevin Hou, MBA Candidate 2026
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