It's not taking a hardline attitude. If you have, for example, Aspergers, unplanned, unscheduled conversations cause incredible anxiety and are extremely hard to manage. This leads to miscommunication, arguments and pointless stress. And there's no "taking myself out of my comfort zone" that would help, I'm already out of my comfort zone whenever I talk live to someone who isn't one of the half dozen closest people in my life. And even with them it gets tricky sometimes.
As for public speaking, it's actually a fairly scripted and controlled situation. A good middle-ground would probably be something like leading a table-top RPG game, though for me that's already in the realms of fantasies, and I'm pretty sure I'm doing pretty well all things considered.
Anyway, the point is: some of us have our special needs. Some people need extra control over conversations due to their inherent vulnerability. It's not just introversion, it's often anxieties and social disorders. I'm still a pretty great coder that can get along with a team of living, breathing people, and deal with a stand-up every day, but an unannounced meeting — not so much.
As for public speaking, it's actually a fairly scripted and controlled situation. A good middle-ground would probably be something like leading a table-top RPG game, though for me that's already in the realms of fantasies, and I'm pretty sure I'm doing pretty well all things considered.
Anyway, the point is: some of us have our special needs. Some people need extra control over conversations due to their inherent vulnerability. It's not just introversion, it's often anxieties and social disorders. I'm still a pretty great coder that can get along with a team of living, breathing people, and deal with a stand-up every day, but an unannounced meeting — not so much.