What Type of Communicator are You?
By: Yuki Gu, Account Supervisor at PRLab
If you are looking to improve your communication skills, but don’t know where to start, look no further. This is for you.
“What’s the greatest advice I can give? Develop excellent communication skills.
– Julie Sweet (CEO of Accenture)”
Communication skills are critical for professional growth, but there is not a single approach that suits everybody. No matter how you tend to communicate, you have a style. Each type has pros and cons, and it is important to understand there is a standard in communication. Below are four major types of communication styles – check it out to see where you fit in.
- The Analytical Communicator
You like facts and logic and prefer policies and planning. You are organized and prefer control over chaos. Instructions are very important to you.
Pros: Looking at issues logically and dispassionately is your strength. You are the data and informational expertise on the team. You are the one who is held accountable when it comes down to logistics.
Cons: While you are focusing on the “important” aspect of the project, people who have the personal communication style might think you are cold or distant. It is possible that the analytic style will get terse and irritated easier than others.
- The Intuitive Communicator
Being the intuitive communicator usually means you love the entire perspective of the project. You love the big plans over little details. While functional communicators create a step by step plan, you focus on the beginning and the end.
Pros: Cutting to the chase is your strengths. You prefer low context communication without all the embellishments. You are the one to ensure everything is according to the plan and gets done on time.
Cons: Lack of patience is the issue for the intuitive communicator. When it comes to the nitty-gritty minutiae, there is potential for the intuitive communicator to miss points. While dealing with a functional communicator, who pays more attentions to details, it is important for the intuitive communicator to be patient.
- The Functional Communicator
Your key words are goals and motivation. You like process, detail, timelines and planning. You can’t live without an agenda.
Pros: This communication style generally hits all the details and miss nothing. You are the most trusted one on the team when it comes to implementations because your love in processes and details.
Cons: The potential downside of the functional communication style is that getting your audience’s attention is challenging. Be careful when you communicate with the intuitive communicator, because they tend to skip to the end for the “whole picture” while you’re bogged down in tiny details.
- The Personal Communicator
You care about connections and emotional language. It is not about how people think, but how they are feeling that matters the most to you.
Pros: Deep personal relationships are your strengths. When it comes to conflicts, you team will count on you to smooth them over. You are the one secretly holding your group together. The personal communication style falls heavily on the emotional spectrum of the grid.
Cons: If you take things too personally you might be described as sensitive and emotional. You might run into difficulties while communicating with analytical communicators since they dislike all the touchy-feely stuff.
There is not one style that is better. Once you understand your communication style, you should improve weaknesses and recognize your audience. Learning your style is essential in effective communication!
Have you figured out your communicator style yet? If not, head over to Buzzfeed and take this short quiz! https://www.buzzfeed.com/facetheissue/what-kind-of-communicator-are-you
You don’t trust BuzzFeed? Here is the portal key to ICEdge https://icedge.com/ for a more professional and comprehensive test! Don’t forget to come back to check your strengths and weakness once you are done.