How To Communicate To The Four Main Personality Types

By Author: Lee Hopkins
Total Articles: 13
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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.

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

www.hopkins-business-communication-training.com