Communicate To The Four Main Personality Types

You probably know this already, but there are generally held to be four main personality types, which I call: Extrovert, Amiable, Analytical and Pragmatic .

Let's take a moment to consider each of them in the workplace.

Extrovert: someone who probably has a messy desk; who leaves projects 75% completed then gets distracted by new, 'more exciting' projects; someone who communicates their ideas with enthusiasm and charm; makes instant decisions; hates 'paperwork' and the 'dull routines' of life, such as filling in order forms, checking bank statements, etc.; is usually 'fashionably late' to meetings, events and parties (and they love entertaining clients!); always has interesting screen savers.

Amiable: someone who is the 'peacemaker' in the office; is always striving for a 'win-win' in everything in life; someone who probably isn't terribly ambitious and striving, but is very happy to support and encourage others who are; someone who cannot say "No" very easily and so are probably on every committee going (whether they actually want to be or not); is more likely to make a decision on the spot if only to stop you 'hassling' them, otherwise will take weeks to make a decision (if at all, as they prefer others to make the decision for them); like to know what others are doing (in case they themselves are doing something inappropriate or foolish).

Analytical: 'GadgetMan' - has multiple PDAs in case one fails; has several computers for the same reason; adores punctuality; when they tell you they recently bought something they won't round the number up but will tell you to the exact dollar and cent how much they paid; loves playing with spreadsheets, charts and projections; will never make a decision on the spot; will buy a car based on fuel economy, servicing costs, resell value, depreciation and other factors, never 'because it's a lovely shade of blue'.

Pragmatic: a 'take charge' person; their view is the way things will probably get done; they listen to others' points of view out of courtesy or intellectual curiousity, but will still do things 'my way' ; doesn't take business rejection personally; not interested in how 'exciting' a project might be, only interested in how much money it will cost/make and how soon it can be implemented/built; very often the Pragmatic likes the colour ' Red '; doesn't have any photos of family or friends on their desk (too unprofessional); has a neat, organised desk.

Now, sales trainers have for years been pushing the line that we 'buy with emotion, and justify that purchase with logic'. But having seen a few Analyticals in my years I don't actually believe that to be the case. An accountant friend of mine in England never purchased anything because of emotion - he always poured over spec sheets from various manufacturers, weighed up the costs involved, considered his options. And because he was also part-Amiable he then let his wife make the final decision, based on his input.

Which raises an important point. No one is ever a 'pure' type. We are all a mix of the four personality types to some degree or other. Yet we also have a strong preference for one particular type.

I'm an Extrovert with a leaning towards the Analytical. I couldn't begin to count the number of my own marketing projects that I have half-completed here in my office; each one almost ready to roll but just in line behind the latest 'more exciting' idea I've just had. Yet I also love getting deep into Dreamweaver and working out how to tweak my website pages for greater speed, better search engine optimisation, tidy up loose bits of code, and so on.

But that's beside the point...

The real purpose of this page is to let you know that your business communications - whether they are email, web page, pdf brochure or even initial word of mouth introduction - need to appeals to the different needs of the four personality types.

How do you do that?

By making sure that your communication has a reasonably equal amount of the following:

* Facts and figures to appeal to the Analytical and Pragmatic

* Enthusiasm and excitement to appeal to the Extrovert

* Testimonials to appeal to the Amiable

Get that right and you have a greater chance of getting your message across.

When you match consumer psychology with effective communication styles you get a powerful combination. Lee Hopkins can show you how to communicate better for better business results. At Hopkins-Business-Communication-Traini ng.com you can find the secrets to communication success.

---

Delegate or Die!

You Can't Do It All - Learning To DelegateThere is... Read More

Tales From the Corporate Frontlines:The Importance of a Competitive Wage and Benefit Package

This article relates to the Compensation and Benefits competency, commonly... Read More

Solving the Problem Solving Problem

The meeting started like a hundred others before. There were... Read More

Summertime Blues

It's hard to believe the year will be half over... Read More

Nonprofit Performance: Outcome Measurement Can Be A Good Thing

Does the idea of program evaluation make your stomach churn?... Read More

Get Out Of The Stone Age: Give Leadership Talks

160 years ago, the newly invented electric telegraph carried the... Read More

New Job, New Culture: Do You Fit In?

It seemed like a good decision at the time. A... Read More

Organize your Office- Seven Solutions

1. Create a filing system with broad categories such as... Read More

Attract and Retain Positively Great Employees - An Action Plan for Employee Training

Everyday a business owner, CEO, or manager somewhere is complaining... Read More

Employee Retention: Keeping the People Who Keep You in Business

The retention of highly skilled knowledge workers is one of... Read More

Is Your Management Style Assisting or Hurting Your Business?

Many times business owners can have significant differences in management... Read More

Executive Performance -- Whos to Blame for Incompetent Managers?

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal raised the... Read More

A Management Strategy

I witnessed some interesting behaviour from one of our premier... Read More

Never Punish Yourself or Others for Failures

If you want to find success in various ramifications, be... Read More

Training Managers and New Trainers

Training managers use many of the same interpersonal and analytical... Read More

Employee Discipline: How to Nip Problems in the Bud

Are you uncomfortable with delivering disciplinary action, even involving employees... Read More

To Meet or Not to Meet - What are the Questions?

Meetings can be a total waste of time or a... Read More

Innovation Management - idea selection and valuation issues

Innovation is different and distinct from creativity in that it... Read More

Learn to Assert Yourself

Pinpoint your own blocks to assertiveness: fear of disapproval, need... Read More

Another Use for Meetings

Every meeting is a laboratory where you can observe and... Read More

Running Successful Meetings - The Key Steps To Getting It Right

We all complain about meetings which are a waste of... Read More

How To Prevent Your New Manager From Becoming A Statistic

According to a study by the Manchester Group, 4 out... Read More

Magnificent Meetings - 5 Tips for Success

Your impact at meetings will determine in a big way... Read More

Be a Change Agent ( Part 1)

Aligning business organizations to be successful in the present and... Read More

Finding Proactive Solutions: A Key to Demonstrating Your Management Fitness

In my book Talking Points: 25 Tips for Clear, Credible... Read More

Creativity and Innovation Management ? Motivation and Management Layers

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

Cheat Sheet; Understanding The MSDS and Your Obligations In The Workplace To Employees

MSDS SHEETSMSDS stands for Material Safety Data Sheets. MSDS sheets... Read More

The New Five Truths of Employee Motivation

Motivation is a term that is so widely used, yet... Read More

How To Jump Start Your Profits and Keep Your Profits Rolling

There are so many ways to jump start your prifits... Read More

The Changing Boss-Secretary Relationship

THE CHANGING BOSS-SECRETARY RELATIONSHIP: Imagine a partnership at work. One... Read More

The Seven Cs: Partnership Danger Signs - Conflict Becoming the Norm ? Part 2

A series of articles exploring the seven critical areas that... Read More

Dealing with Difficult People

You know, this would be a great business if it... Read More

The Leadership Alignment Model

Some time ago we had the privilege of working with... Read More