The Importance of identifying Communication Styles

To become a great business communicator you must understand what types of communication styles that is out there.

There is a certain importance of communication when you are trying to build a business.

Have you ever tried to talk to someone about an opportunity or anything for that matter and they just don’t get it or understand what you are trying to say?

I am pretty sure everyone has been in this situation at least once in their life.

If you want to get through to someone you have to first understand what kind of communicator they are and then adapt to their style.

Some people have combined communication styles but we all have a naturally prominent one.

What is your business communication style?

You don’t know?

No problem.

After reading this post you will know what kind of communicator you are and maybe even find out that you have two or three characteristics.

There are four major styles of communication that have been identified by research.

I will break them down for you and show you how to adapt to each of them.

You will be able to identify what kind of communicator they are and then you can communicate more effectively.

You feel me?

Great, now let’s get to it, shall we!?

The Controller Communicator (D - Dominance)

This type of communicator wants nothing but facts.

They will seem pretty bossy and straight forward.

They are task and goal oriented and their main priority is to get it done.

They do not like to waste time and cares only about the bottom line and results.

Here is how you effectively communicate to this style of communicator.

1 Get to the point.
2 Be efficient and business like.
3 Set goals and objectives.
4 Give them conclusions.
5 Solve the problems.
6 Talk more about results.

The Promoter Communicator (I - Influence)

This type of communicator loves talking to people and have fun.

They are very social and can talk about anything for a long time.

They are very enthusiastic, curious and appreciate humor with sensitivity.

Here is how you effectively communicate to this style of communicator.

1 Leave plenty of time to converse.
2 Ask them about their family and be prepared to talk about yours
3 Use lots of examples and talk in terms of stories and people

The Supporter Communicator (S - Steadiness)

This type of communicator appears calm and cool.

They tend to be low-key and reserved.

They tend to be patient individuals.

They avoid conflict and have good listening skills.

Here is how you effectively communicate to this style of communicator.

1 Earn their trust, baby steps.
2 Provide plenty reassurances.
3 Talk in terms of security.
4 Don’t come on too strong.
5 Don’t ask for big decisions immediately

The Analyzer Communicator (C - Conscientiousness)

This type of communicator is a facts and a figures kind of person.

They are detail oriented on everything they do.

They like data, charts and graphs.

They have a serious and straightforward approach.

Here is how you effectively communicate to this style of communicator.

1 Have plenty of facts and figures.
2 Be prepared for them to be skeptical.
3 Answer all questions asked.
4 Make sure you are well prepared before speaking.
5 Give them time to think and analyze.

Now that we have gone through the different business styles of communication, ask yourself…which one are you?

Now that you know what to look for, you can now adapt to the conversation so that the person you are talking to has a better understanding of the message you are trying to get across.

Here is an example of a conversation between me and my wife.

There was a time where I found this tricked computer barebones bundle which was on sale at Best Buy.

I was so excited looking at the specifications for the PC components.

Now me being a self taught PC builder since 1995 and working for GEEK SQUAD, you could say I learned a few things, lol.

I am all about specs and performance, so you can imagine what kind of conversation came out of me.

I was telling my wife about how this bundle was on sale which came with High End Motherboard, Six Core Processor (CPU), Corsair 8 GB Memory DDR3 PC3-12800 unbuffered, 1 terabyte Solid State Drive, Asus GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB GDDR5, PCI-Express 3.0 (x16), Overclocked Graphics Card.

After I realized what I had said to her, I knew she did not have a clue by the look on her face.

Hey, I was in the moment, hahaha.

My bad.

Now do you see how important it is to adapt to someone's communication style?

I hope so.

Listen, Assess, Converse Effectively.

Continue to learn and apply and you will succeed!