Several communication style surveys can help us determine our dominant and recessive communication characteristics. Even if you have taken a survey previously, I urge you to reiew Carl Jung’s I-Speak Your Language Survey. It is simple and straightforward. It will give you a powerful sense of your communication characteristics and offer insight on how to relate to others. Your style can change over time, especially if you work at it.
There is a dual purpose for reviewing the survey:
First, to give you a benchmark to evaluate your communication style.
Second, to give you a benchmark for evaluating the communication style of others.
This Survey covers four main communication styles:
Senser: Pragmatic and energetic. Takes the necessary action to get things done. Must be careful to let others catch up.
Intuitor: Future oriented thinker. Solves conceptual issues. May need to come in for a landing occasionally.
Thinker: Disciplined and deliberate decision maker. Approaches issues logically and systematically. May need to stop thinking and act.
Feeler: Perceptive and supportive. Enjoys personal relationships and responds to the needs of others. May be reluctant to confront a difficult people issue.
Everyone has recognizable and preferred communication styles. Even after a short exposure to a person, you will be able to identify their communication style. People communicate most effectively with individuals whose styles are like their own and have greater difficulty communicating with people who exhibit dissimilar communication styles. The challenge for leaders is to modify their styles to ‘speak the language’ of others. To do this effectively, leaders should have a working grasp of the different communication styles.
The figure below gives you a quick overview of the strengths and weaknesses of each style. Use your strengths to your advantage and work on your weaknesses so they can become strengths.
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