He is the most discreet of The evening is (still) young, which his colleagues never fail to recall, and that is why he is my favorite. I like shy people, but Olivier Niquet sees himself more as an introvert, and he has just written a whole book on this subject, kings of silencethe caption of which reads as follows: What we can learn from introverts to be a little less stupid and (maybe) save the world.
Posted at 1:00 p.m.
I was okay with the cover before I even opened the book. In this world where everyone talks, it would be welcome to turn your tongue seven times before opening your mouth, or to crack your fingers twelve times before writing a comment. Fortunately, introverts exist to dilute this incessant and often violent chatter a little. On the other hand, what is unfortunate is that it leaves all the room to the loudest, who dominate the speeches and guide the debates. “I think it would be better if people thought a little more before always reacting quickly to everything by shouting, says Olivier Niquet. By default, I am unable to give my opinion quickly. But if everyone was like me, that is to say a little slow, I think it would help the debate. People would think before they take off. »
Olivier Niquet needs time to comment on subjects, which is a defect on the radio, and even more so on TV, where silence is not tolerated. Like many introverts, he is one of those people who find the right line once they get home, in front of the bathroom mirror.
I understand that, because my best jokes always come to me in the shower. This means that nothing predestined Olivier Niquet to do this job as a communicator, and that in one of the radio programs where you have to have the most repartee. This is why he advocates an alliance between introverts and extroverts in his book. Something that served him a lot by being a good friend of Jean-Philippe Wauthier. “Even before we did radio together, I knew he could always come to my rescue in a discussion with anyone. We started with The spornographer, which was a more formatted show. Everything was written, with editing, I understood a little how it worked. And it became a gag, my introversion, which isn’t really a gag because it’s my personality. »
It seems very true, because talking face to face, I can see that Olivier Niquet is not the type to get into a logorrhea. Just before entering the café, a fan on a bike gave him a big “yeah, Niquet!” with his fist in the air, to which he replied with a shy smile, barely stirring. In kings of silence, he talks about the discomfort he can cause in social life, and that for this reason he is the worst person to take the elevator with. We also learn that it is in the family, because it was not much talked about at the Niquets. Doesn’t he belong to that long line of dumb men in Quebec, rather than to the introverts? “I don’t know if it’s a question of genetics or mimicry, but my mother used to tell me that my grandfather was silent before he turned 50. Me, I knew him when he was always telling stories. »
There is therefore perhaps a little hope on that side of his genealogical branch, but that remains to be seen, because Olivier Niquet does not like the small talk, which consists of speaking without saying anything. By his own admission, he sucks at this. He has not received any particular diagnosis on the broad spectrum of autism, which we like to stick to him as a joke.
In fact, he doesn’t much like this tendency to turn what is sometimes just a character trait into a disease. If he wrote kings of silence, which is based on his personal anecdotes, humor and several serious studies, it is above all so that we understand better how things work in the heads of introverts. “I read a lot of books on introversion. I find that they sometimes give the impression that it’s really fun to be introverted, which is perhaps exaggerated, or conversely, that they are people who suffer from social phobia and loneliness. It seems to me that there is an in-between, it is not a problem. Anyway, it never hurt me. Sure, I wasn’t the most popular at school, but I was fine that way, and I never had too much trouble making friends. »
Could it even have benefited him with the fairer sex, this little mysterious side? “Maybe,” he replies with a smirk. But I haven’t had tons of blondes, I’ve been with the same one for 20 years. Let’s say that I couldn’t test my “mysterious” side with many. »
Olivier Niquet is fascinated by people who are able to fill hours on the radio or on TV, and who provide him with the material of his “media bloopers” that I never miss, in particular his annual review. How can we talk without getting tired of the Canadian and express opinions all day long without putting our foot in our mouths? “I would never be able to do that,” he admits. It takes me time to form an opinion and oftentimes I don’t have an opinion on something. »
Even rarer than introverts are those who admit to NOT having an opinion, which makes Olivier Niquet a species apart in the media landscape. With kings of silence, he is a bit of a spokesperson, not for the voiceless, but for those who don’t abuse their vocal cords too much, regardless of their profession. “I don’t want reasonable accommodations for introverts, but society isn’t always right for them. In a business, someone who does their own job well without talking to others may not get promoted over someone who talks to everyone around the coffee machine. In companies and in society in general, we listen to those who speak and not the others. »
The kings of silence – What we can learn from introverts to be a little less stupid and (maybe) save the world
Olivier Niquet
Your mother’s editions
130 pages