Didn't attend field-specific conferences during my PhD; how much of a disadvantage is it?
People skills can be very important for an academic. We teach, we advise and guide students, we interact with colleagues. In lab sciences we often have to work closely with others. Collaboration, even in such fields as math, is very important today. Moreover, people will tend to ignore your ideas if you don't learn how to present them enthusiastically. 

However, that doesn't close you out if you are introverted. Even if you are very introverted. People skills are just that: skills. They can be learned and practiced. Many of the people you meet who have good people skills are actually introverted. 

I've mentioned how introverts can interact effectively in public in answer to other questions here, for example. 

Treat people skills just like any other skills that you need to learn. Start out slow, if necessary, but practice. Play the role of a confident somewhat extroverted person, even if you aren't.



This answer was provided for an earlier version of the question that was quite focused on effective strategies for introverts in academia.