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Communication styles questionnaire plus analysis
Communication Styles Questionnaire plus analysis. Background: Personality types, communication styles and how to use them. Most personality tests, including the best-known, the Myers-Briggs Typology Inventory, are based on the work of psychologist, Carl Jung 1875-1961. Jung categorised personalities into ‘types’, and psychologists and management theorists quickly spotted their potential for improving the way we understand and get along with family, friends and colleagues. You may well have taken a Myers-Briggs test at some point in your career, or heard other colleagues talking about their test result, which (in shorthand) is expressed as four letters, such as: ENTJ or INFP. Myers-Briggs is perhaps the best known of the typology tests, but what do the results mean, and how do you use this tool at work? The letters stand for different personality traits or attitudes. When translated into the working world, they can denote how a person likes to be communicated with, and what strengths they bring to a team or a project. They can help to shed light on office clashes, tensions, misunderstandings and relationship difficulties. Often, discord is less to do with what is being presented than how it is being presented. In office environments where Myers-Briggs has become part of the culture, a person’s typology may be included in recruitment processes and team design, with people freely comparing notes on their personality types. By understanding the types, and subtly adapting your behaviour to increase the comfort level of the other person, you can increase rapport, relieve discomfort, improve understanding and bridge relationships between colleagues. A simple way of personality typing. All of this is only useful if you can easily establish the personality type of both yourself and the other people involved, and often it’s not appropriate to ask. Luckily, Industrial psychologist David Merrill came up with a handy alternative back in 1921, when he realised we could usually ‘type’ people by watching their behaviour. Merrill called his types, ‘communication styles’, and named them: • Analytical • Amiable • Expressive • Driver The characteristics of his personality types share commonalities with the types identified by most of the popular typologies.
Communication styles questionnaire plus analysis
- 1. Communication Style Questionnaire Your name ………………………………… Working across a whole row at a time, read the four boxes, then find the one that ‘best describes you’ and give this 4 points. Then find the box that next best describes you and give this 3 points. Then choose the next most like you, give this 2 points. Finally give the box that is ‘least like you’ 1 point. For example: Impressive … 3 … Self reliant … 1 … Relaxed … 2 … Responsive … 4 … NOW COMPLETE THE QUESTIONNAIRE 1 Impressive… Self reliant… Relaxed… Responsive… 2 Expert… Realistic… Co-operative… Creative… 3 Specialist… Supportive… Informal… Decisive… 4 Diplomatic… Sense of fun… Common sense… Job centred… 5 Eager… Knowledgeable… Efficient… Loyal… 6 Rational… Competitive… Faithful… Spirited… 7 Quick… Sensitive… Influential… Accurate… 8 Warm… Lively… Precise… Controls emotions… 9 Intelligent/academic… Impulsive… Agreeable… Direct… 10 Serious… Energetic… Considerate… Sensible… 11 Dynamic… Stimulating… Patient… Business like… 12 Take risks… Organised… Charismatic… Attentive… 13 Powerful… Logical…. Uninhibited… Sociable… 14 Orderly… Outgoing… Calm… Focussed… 15 Amiable… Expressive… Analytical… Controlling… Page - 1 -
- 2. This page isintentionally blank Page - 2 -
- 3. SCORING INSTRUCTIONS Copyyour scores from Page 1 to this page. Put your score next to the same word. Add the scores in each vertical column. Put your totals at the bottom of the page. COLUMN 1 COLUMN 2 COLUMN 3 COLUMN 4 1 Self reliant … Responsive… Relaxed… Impressive… 2 Expert… Co-operative… Realistic… Creative… 3 Specialist… Supportive… Decisive… Informal… 4 Common sense… Diplomatic… Job centred… Sense of fun… 5 Knowledgeable… Loyal… Efficient… Eager… 6 Rational… Faithful… Competitive… Spirited… 7 Accurate… Sensitive… Quick… Influential… 8 Precise… Warm… Controls emotions… Lively… 9 Intelligent/academic… Agreeable… Direct… Impulsive… 10 Sensible… Considerate… Serious… Energetic… 11 Business like… Patient… Dynamic… Stimulating… 12 Organised… Attentive… Take risks… Charismatic… 13 Logical… Sociable… Powerful… Uninhibited… 14 Focused… Calm… Orderly… Outgoing… 15 Analytical… Amiable… Controlling… Expressive… TOTAL ……………. TOTAL ………… TOTAL ………… TOTAL ………… Check: the 4 column totals together must add up to 150 Page - 3 -
- 4. FINDING YOUR PRIMARYSTYLE Calculate your scores for Assertiveness and Responsiveness ASSERTIVENESS Add sum of columns 3 and 4 = ……………………….. Add sum of columns 1 and 2 = ……………………….. (3 and 4) minus (1 and 2) = ……………………….. RESPONSIVENESS Add sum of columns 2 and 4 = ……………………….. Add sum of columns 1 and 3 = ……………………….. (2 and 4) minus (1 and 3) = ……………………….. Page - 4 -
- 5. TO IDENTIFY YOURPRIMARY STYLE, find your ‘RESPONSIVENESS, score along the horizontal axis and your ‘ASSERTIVENESS’ score along the vertical axis. Plot your position on the diagram where the two intersect each other. Ways to Generate Pull Express feelings. Flatter. Be more gregarious and talkative. Spend more time on the relationship. Ways to Decrease Pull Be restrained. Control your enthusiasm. Make decisions based on facts not gut feel. Think before speaking, reason your point. Ways to Generate Push Be accurate, brief, clear. Ways to Decrease Push Seek views. Page - 5 - 60 50 40 30 20 10 10 20 30 40 -60 -50 -40 -30 -20 -10 50 60 -10 -20 -30 -40 -50 -60 PULL – ASK (Responsiveness) PUSH – TELL (Assertiveness) DRIVER EXPRESSIVE ANALYTIC AMIABLE CON TRO LS F EELI N GS S H O WS F EELI N GS
- 6. Argue your point. Be prepared to disagree. Start conversations. Be moderate. Listen without jumping in. Be flexible. Let others dominate. DRIVER STYLE ¨ Persistent ¨ Direct ¨ Competitive ¨ Takes initiative and control ¨ Control feelings and emotions ¨ Strongly persuasive ¨ Business-like and straight forward ¨ Detached ¨ Values results ¨ Enjoys challenges ¨ Committed to getting things done ¨ Will confront and correct others ¨ Dominant and focused THINGS TO AVOID HOW TO TREAT A DRIVER Page - 6 -
- 7. DOING TO ADRIVER ¨ Taking an interest in their personal affairs ¨ Being chaotic or disorganised ¨ Being vague or unsure ¨ Rambling on or wasting their time ¨ If you disagree, do not let it reflect on them personally ¨ Using personal relationships to get an advantage ¨ Staying for personal chats after business ¨ Give clear, brief, accurate data ¨ Prepare a well-organised package ¨ Focus on business, ask specific “what” questions ¨ Present facts efficiently and concisely ¨ Provide options on which they decide ¨ Ensure key facts and figures to focus on the probability of success ¨ Focus on objectives, results and the bottom line ¨ Support their conclusions ¨ Finish the business and leave quickly EXPRESSIVE STYLE ¨ Friendly ¨ Good social style ¨ Uninhibited ¨ Puts people at ease Page - 7 -
- 8. ¨ Generates enthusiasmin others ¨ Shares dreams and ambitions ¨ Excitable and talkative ¨ Use praise and favours ¨ Motivational ¨ High energy and vitality ¨ Flamboyant ¨ Intuitive and emotional ¨ Mood swings THINGS TO AVOID DOING TO AN EXPRESSIVE HOW TO TREAT AN EXPRESSIVE ¨ Crushing their views ¨ Being curt or formal ¨ Concentrating on facts and figures, alternatives, abstractions or going into detail ¨ Wasting time trying to be highly controlled and business-like ¨ Messing around too much; sticking too rigidly to the agenda either ¨ Talking down to them; do not patronise ¨ Being longwinded ¨ Support their visions and intuitions ¨ Socialise and talk about their objectives and opinions ¨ Ask for their ideas and opinions ¨ Get commitment to action ¨ Provide solid ideas for making decisions ¨ Allow time to be stimulating, creative, fast moving ¨ Give incentives for quick action ¨ Be enthusiastic ¨ Control ‘dreaming’ with them or you will lose time Page - 8 -
- 9. AMIABLE STYLE ¨Warm and friendly ¨ Good personal relationships ¨ Service oriented ¨ Makes unobtrusive suggestions ¨ Offers understanding and friendship ¨ Co-operative and supportive ¨ Displays empathy ¨ Easy to work with ¨ Patient and dependable ¨ Accommodating ¨ Good listener ¨ Logical ¨ Good in teams ¨ Good at disarming conflict THINGS TO AVOID DOING TO AN AMIABLE HOW TO TREAT AN AMIABLE ¨ Pushing straight into business or the agenda ¨ Sticking solely to business; on the other hand, don’t lose sight of goals by being too personal ¨ Forcing them to respond quickly to your objectives; don’t say “This is how I see the ¨ Start with a personal comment ¨ Show real interest in them ¨ Come across as honest, open, sincere ¨ Identify patiently their personal objectives ¨ Present the case gently and with no Page - 9 -
- 10. situation” ¨ Beingdomineering or demanding, threatening them with position and power ¨ Debating facts and figures ¨ Bullying them into agreeing - they will resist ¨ Patronising them by using subtlety or invective ¨ Offering assurances you cannot fulfil threats or pressure ¨ Ask ‘how’ questions to find out their opinions ¨ Demonstrate how their decision will reduce risks ¨ Provide benefits ¨ Provide personal guarantees ANALYTIC STYLE ¨ Quiet and unassuming ¨ Uses factual data and logical arguments ¨ Good attention to detail ¨ Conservative and conscientious ¨ Maximises procedures ¨ Calculates and plans ¨ Business-like ¨ Deliberate and precise ¨ Lets others take the initiative ¨ Seen as unemotional, aloof and business-like ¨ Likes evidence before deciding ¨ Makes practical decisions by being logical Page - 10 -
- 11. THINGS TO AVOID DOING TO AN ANALYTIC HOW TO TREAT AN ANALYTIC ¨ Being chaotic and impulsive ¨ Being breezy and casual ¨ Forcing the decision-making process ¨ Wasting time or being superficial ¨ Relying on personal persuasion ¨ Using references of others or unreliable sources ¨ Using someone’s opinion as evidence ¨ Using slick techniques ¨ Give accurate, logical data ¨ Provide solid, practical evidence ¨ Stick to business and build credibility by listing pros and cons ¨ Allow sufficient time to be thorough ¨ Organise and schedule presentation with a step-by-step schedule ¨ Give them time to evaluate and verify proposals ¨ Minimise risk by giving guarantees Page - 11 -
- 12. Flexibility in Communicatingwith Others It is important to be versatile when dealing with managers, team members, colleagues and customers, not just by providing a variety of products and/or services, but by being able to modify your communication style. Before you can do that you need to know what your default style is and the default style(s) of the person/people you are communicating with. Only then will you be able to modify effectively. Here is a table which identifies the 4 main styles of communication and the “default settings” predominant in each style. In reality we can demonstrate all styles, but there are always one or two styles which dominate our personality. ANALYTIC DRIVER AMIABLE EXPRESSIVE Fall back position Avoids Autocratic Gives in Attacks They value Activity & precision Results and the bottom line Attention and friendship Applause and praise Personal development needs Make decisions Listen Initiate action Check the detail Manage them best by Providing detail Allowing them to build their own structure Making suggestions & facilitating Aspiring to their goals They like to be Accurate Efficient Agreeable Stimulating/visionary Page - 12 -
- 13. To help decisions, provide Evidence & service Options & probabilities Guarantees & assurances Testimony & incentives Page - 13 -