160: The Politics of Shyness - Kaley Chu

Shyness is something we rarely talk about let alone elevate in our loud, often brash, TikTok-fuelled all singing and dancing world.

Meet Melbourne-based Kaley Chu, the founder of 100 Lunches with Strangers, a movement she founded off the back of her best-selling book of the same name where Kaley shared her journey from a shy immigrant to a confident TEDx Speaker in just 2 years by getting out of her comfort zone and arranging 100 lunches with complete strangers.

When COVID hit she turned virtual and has arranged over 350 lunches with strangers (ranging from CEOs, billionaires and even celebrities like Shane Jacobson), and now works with others to help build their confidence, grow their network and unleash their potential.

Kaley has spoken at over 200 events, both in-person and virtual, over the last 3 years to spread positive energy and help others grow and connect. She’s also created two strong communities with over 4,000 members combined, with weekly events to help people connect and grow. (One targeted at personal development and the other supporting Asians in Australia). Kaley is in her 30’s, happily married and a proud mum of two boys.

Kaley shares in this podcast her responses to:

1. Shyness is the tendency to feel awkward, worried, or tense during social encounters, especially with unfamiliar people. Is it a superpower because it can help us get prepared in a way, or something that we need to “fix” to succeed in careers, business and personally? Explain with some examples.
2. Do you think shyness is cultural or in our DNA somehow? Share your view and why.
3. For someone shy how do you convince yourself to meet 100 strangers for lunch? What did that teach you?
4. Has your experiment meant you are now longer shy?
5. Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Shyness?

 

To connect (and maybe have lunch!) with Kaley go to:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaleychu/?originalSubdomain=au

Website: https://www.kaleychu.com/