This is such an interesting question. Sometime the key to more original responses is simply to ask more original questions.

So do extroverts make better speed thinkers? It is too early to judge just yet because the concept of Speed Thinking is still so new. But in some of the workshops I have given I have gained a few tentative insights:

- The concept of Speed Thinking seems to be more easily embraced by extroverts than introverts (extroversion is based on a self-scoring scale from 1-10). They seem to enjoy the concept, it energizes and excites them.

- They also consider themselves to be better at Speed Thinking (on average) than introverts when they first start out.

- Introverts not surprisingly feel slightly uncomfortable with the concept of reacting quickly. They like to consider, internalize and deliberate on their responses. However I have found that for these people a little encouragement to stay with the process can pay dividends. One person yesterday for example came up to me after the workshop and said that she felt extremely uncomfortable with the concept but she was glad that she persevered because she felt empowered at the end of the Speed Thinking session.

- Interestingly based on a small sample of my graduate students it has to be admitted the improvement felt by introverts (51%) was higher than extroverts (39%).

- There is some support for this finding in the literature. For example David Rawlings and Debbie Carnie found that on measures of Intelligence, extroverts performed better than introverts under timed task conditions (Personality Individual Differences Volume 10, Number 4, pp453-458, 1989).

- It may well be in the future that I experiment with separating extroverts and introverts at the beginning of a speed thinking session so that each group can play to their strengths (e.g. extroverts might be louder, more impulsive, talkative etc).

Ken Hudson