What's Your Preferred Style of Communication?

Recalling the team at the hypothetical River City Veterinary Hospital referred to in Modules 2 and 3, you may remember that one of the veterinary technicians, Isabel, had an MBTI type preference of ISFJ. Another staff member, Paul, had a preference for ENTP.

Isabel, then, would generally communicate in a thoughtful and succinct manner with an emphasis on specific facts and details, paying particular attention to the impact on others. By contrast, someone with the exact opposite type, like Paul, would be more comfortable processing things out loud, talking about future possibilities, and evaluating multiple options using logical analysis.

Once again, remember that we use all eight of the MBTI preferences so, depending on the context, Isabel (the ISFJ) would be perfectly capable of using Paul’s ENTP communication style. Similarly, Paul (the ENTP) could also choose to communicate more like Isabel, using an ISFJ style. However, in reality, some preferences are more comfortable than others and both Isabel and Paul are more likely to behave using a style that’s more consistent with their actual MBTI type.

So, what’s your preferred style of communication? For each of the dichotomies above (E/I, S/N, T/F, J/P), which of the behaviors listed do you naturally and consistently express? You can record your preferred style here:
 

Extraversion (E)

Focus: Talk it out

Motto: “Let’s talk this over.”
 

Introversion (I)

Focus: Think it through

Motto: “I need to think about this.”

Sensing (S)

Focus: Specifics

Motto: “Just the facts, please.”
 

Intuition (N)

Focus: Big picture

Motto: “I can see it all now.”

Thinking (T)

Focus: Logical implications

Motto: “Is this logical?”
 

Feeling (F)

Focus: Impact on people

Motto: “Will anyone be hurt?”

Judging (J)

Focus: Joy of closure

Motto: “Just do something.”
 

Perceiving (P)

Focus: Joy of processing

Motto: “Let’s wait and see.”

If you’re still not sure, observe yourself in action over the next week or two. At least once a day, reflect back over the various interactions you’ve participated in and determine which of the behaviors listed above best describe you.