The Awfully Quiet Podcast

If you’ve ever thought, “If I were really confident, this wouldn’t feel so hard,” or felt pressure to sound more impressive than you actually feel, this episode might gently challenge that entire narrative.
In this episode of Awfully Quiet, I sit down with Dr. Dan Rosenfeld, psychologist, comedian, and author of The Confidence Equation, to explore why trying to sound confident might be the very thing keeping you stuck in self doubt.
Born with cerebral palsy, Dr. Dan has navigated barriers most of us will never face. Through that lived experience, he developed a grounded, unconventional understanding of confidence rooted in self-trust rather than performance.
In this conversation, we explore:
Why “building confidence” might be a trap
The difference between looking confident and actually feeling it
How to work with your inner critic instead of fighting it
Three quiet shifts that move self-doubt toward self-trust
Why introverts may already be closer to real confidence than they think

This conversation genuinely shifted how I think about showing up, especially behind the microphone. Instead of trying to sound impressive or polished, Dr. Dan invites us into something far more powerful: self-trust, experimentation, and using the “paint and brushes” already in our hands.
🔗 Connect with Dr. Dan and explore his book The Confidence Equation: Three Keys to Unleashing Self-Confidence as an Introvert.
Follow the show:
AWFULLY QUIET (bts + reflections): @awfullyquietpodcast
SUBTLE (tips + tools): @subtleseries

Your ideas deserve better than your notes app. But I understand why they end up there.
What feels layered and sharp on the inside rarely comes out that way on the first try. And most advice about “putting yourself out there” sounds the same: be louder, be faster, be more extroverted than you actually are.
So you keep your thinking to yourself. Not because it isn’t good. But because you don’t want to break character to express it.
Your idea.
Your perspective.
Your creative instinct.
It becomes something you enjoy privately. Meanwhile, someone else runs with something half as considered.
In this episode, we question the narrative that quiet ambition belongs in a corporate box and unpack what’s actually at stake when your best thinking never leaves your head.
We get into:
The difference between inward and outward wiring
Why “career advice for introverts” was never the full picture
The translation problem: when your best thinking stays inside
The creators who bring inner worlds to life without loud tactics
Why this is about identity, ambition, and culture, not just work

If you know you’re not meant to be loud… but you also know you’re not meant to stay small... this conversation is for you.
Follow the show:
AWFULLY QUIET (bts + reflections): @awfullyquietpodcast
SUBTLE (tips + tools): @subtleseries

If you’re quiet, introspective, and don’t consider yourself good at “selling yourself,” this conversation will change how you think about job search.
This week, I sat down with Anna Belyaeva to talk about how jobs actually happen now, especially for people who think deeply, do solid work, and don’t rely on loud self-promotion.
Anna is a Stanford-certified career coach and job search strategist who works with ambitious professionals to help them land high-paying roles they genuinely enjoy.
In this conversation, we get into:
the career skills that matter most, but often get overlooked
why getting hired in 2026 isn’t about uploading a PDF anymore
how to gather interview intel that helps you stand out without performing
how senior roles often come together without a formal application
the quiet truth about “selling yourself”, and why introverts are often better positioned to network than they think

Anna is someone whose work I’ve admired for years for her fresh, unconventional take and her honest perspective on the amount of practice, rigour, and effort that actually goes into landing a role that fits, not just pays.
🔗 Learn more about Anna’s work @careerdiet or listen to her Podcast (she recommends Episode 40 in this conversation).
If this episode resonated, follow the show and leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating.
It genuinely makes my day & and it helps the right people find these conversations.
Follow the podcast:
AWFULLY QUIET (bts + reflections): @awfullyquietpodcast
SUBTLE (tips + tools): @subtleseries

In this episode, I walk through four concrete moves that help make your thinking visible at work, especially if you tend to be on the quieter side.
Not by speaking more, pushing yourself to perform confidence, or explaining yourself all the time.
But by making your judgement, direction, and intent easier for other people to follow.
We look at:
– why quiet thinking so often stays invisible by default
– what people actually look for when they’re trying to gauge competence
– how to anchor your thinking to judgement, direction, and consistency
– four practical moves that help turn quiet into something others rely on

Chapters
00:00 — When Quiet Becomes Competence
02:30 — Why Being Quiet Gets Misread
03:28 — Move 1: Letting People See Your Thinking
04:15 — Move 2: Making Your Judgement Visible
05:22 — Move 3: Giving Your Thinking Direction
06:20 — Move 4: Becoming Known for How You Think
07:20 — When Quiet Turns Into Authority

Follow along
If an episode ever resonates, follow the show and leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating.
And if you comment or write a review, know that it genuinely makes my day.
AWFULLY QUIET (bts + reflections): @awfullyquietpodcast
SUBTLE (tips + tools): @subtleseries

Quiet doesn’t get overlooked because it’s weak.
It gets overlooked when other people don’t know what to make of it.
In this episode, we move past why quiet gets misread at work and into the more useful question: when does quiet thinking actually start working?
You’ll hear why two people can think quietly in the same room, and yet only one is read as smart, trusted, and pulled into bigger conversations.
This episode is for you if you’ve ever felt:
– capable, but underestimated
– trusted to deliver, but not to lead
– included, but not invited into what comes next
You’ll leave with a clearer understanding of what your quiet is signaling at work, and how to shift how it’s read, without becoming louder or less yourself.
📌 Follow along:
If an episode ever resonates, follow the show and leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating.
And if you comment or write a review, know that it genuinely makes my day. 🤍
AWFULLY QUIET (bts + reflections): @awfullyquietpodcast
SUBTLE (tips + tools): @subtleseries