Why Your Unique Personality affects the way you communicate

Courtesy: pexels.com

Your personality determines how you communicate. This is true whether you realise it or not.

One great way to understand your personality is by taking a personality test. We’re going to focus on the Myers-Briggs 16 personalities test. I am going to focus on the 16 personalities test for 2 reasons:

1. It offers a detailed analysis of one’s personality. This personality test is by far the most detailed & accurate I have ever encountered. Both the questions & the results are highly detailed to the point of being creepy. It’s deeply insightful. This test doesn’t hold back. The questions are particular. The personality analysis is deep & unbiased offering all sides of the personality being discussed.

2. It’s the most popular personality test in the world. Therefore, the analysis of its personality categories is useful to discover why it’s so trusted & widely used. We will also look into the nature of the test in the next blog post.

The best way to explain why your personality affects how you communicate is by looking at a few specific examples of the 16 personality types. We’re going to explain their key personality traits to see how they affect their unique Communication styles.

For this post, we’re going to look at 2 examples of different personality types out of the total 16 : The Entertainer & The Advocate.

Personality examples

The Entertainer

The Entertainer 
Courtesy: pexels.com

Take for example the personality type known as The Entertainer. This type of person is spontaneous, energetic & enthusiastic. Life is never boring when this person is around. Does this remind you of anyone in your life? I’ve certainly met people like this.

You can catch this person spontaneously breaking into song & dance. They get caught up in the excitement of the moment. This makes sense because they are The Entertainer! They also love encouraging others.

They love the spotlight. The world is always a stage to them. They love putting on a show, even if they are just chatting with their friends. They can chat for hours, even going off-topic for a long time.

Even though it may not seem like it, these people are observant & sensitive to other people’s emotions. They help someone talk about a problem that is bothering them & provide a lot of emotional support. However, it is interesting that when they have a problem they tend to avoid conflict. Another downside to The Entertainer personality type is that they get easily bored. They may engage in risky behaviour & pleasures of the moment to get rid of boredom

Whenever there’s need for laughter, playfulness & trying something new or fun, the Entertainer is always the best remedy.

Famous people like Adele, Jamie Oliver, Marilyn Monroe, Jamie Foxx, Miley Cyrus & Adam Levine have been said to have this personality type. Even fictional characters like Jack Dawson from the movie Titanic has been identified as having this personality type.

Strengths of the Entertainer personality 

Bold – Entertainers aren’t known for holding back. Wanting to experience everything there is to experience, people with The Entertainer personality type don’t mind stepping out of their comfort zones when no one else is willing.

Implication- They will communicate in a way that’s brave. They may say something that most people may shy away from. They’re not afraid to go there.

Original – Traditions and expectations are secondary to Entertainers, if a consideration at all. Entertainer personalities love to experiment with new styles, and constantly find new ways to stick out in the crowd.

Implication- This means that they will go out of their way to communicate in a way that is unique. They love to stray away from the norm because it’s fun & they love to stand out. This stems from their love for the spotlight.

Aesthetics and Showmanship – Entertainers inject artistic creativity into their words and actions, too. Every day is a performance, and Entertainers love to put on a show.

Implication- They will communicate in a way that is entertaining. They’re going to put in a lot of drama when they speak. It doesn’t matter what the situation is – whether if it’s a mere class presentation or a stage performance.

Weaknesses of The Entertainer

Sensitive – Entertainers are strongly emotional and very vulnerable to criticism.

Implication- Since they can feel like they’ve been backed into a corner, they tend to react badly. This means they may communicate negatively. It also makes it hard to address any other weaknesses brought to light in the future.

Conflict-Averse – Entertainers sometimes ignore and avoid conflict entirely. 

Implication - This means that they tend to say and do what’s needed to get out of such situations. They will avoid communicating about conflicts & may need a bit of a nudge.

Easily Bored – Without constant excitement, Entertainers get easily bored. They may engage in risky behavior and pleasures of the moment over long-term plans.

Implication- This means that one may need to communicate in an exciting way to stimulate them & retain their attention.

The Advocate

The Advocate
Courtesy: pexels.com

Take for example another personality type known as The Advocate.

This type of person is quiet & mystical, yet very inspiring & a tireless idealist. They are not idle dreamers - they take concrete steps to achieve their goals & they make a lasting impact. They enjoy standing up for what’s right. 

They like connecting deeply with others. Advocates may be reserved, but they communicate in a way that is warm and sensitive. They focus so intensely on achieving their ideals that they may fail to take care of themselves. They feel as if they are not allowed to rest until they achieve their goals. This may lead them to be stressed, burned out & ill-tempered.

They feel compelled to have a mission in their lives. When they encounter injustice, they feel an overwhelming need to speak up against it.

Strengths of The Advocate personality 

Creative – Advocate personalities enjoy finding the perfect solution for the people they care about. To do this, they draw on their vivid imagination and their strong sense of compassion. This can make them excellent counselors and advisors.

Implication- This means that they express themselves in an extremely creative way. Due to their vivid imagination, they are able to communicate in a way that will capture the attention of whoever they are talking to. Their compassionate nature helps them communicate in a way that will reach you emotionally.

Insightful – Advocates typically strive to move past appearances and get to the heart of things. This can give them an almost uncanny ability to understand people’s true motivations, feelings, and needs.

Implication- This means that they communicate in an honest way. They tend to be direct because they want to get to the root cause of the problem or the real core of the conversation.

Principled – People with the Advocate personality type tend to have deeply held beliefs, and their conviction often shines through when they speak or write about subjects that matter to them. 

Implication- This means that their default setting is to communicate in a truly passionate way. This is multiplied tenfold when they are discussing a topic that they are really passionate about – whether it’s justice or their favourite hobbies or creative pursuits.

Advocates can be compelling and inspiring communicators, with their idealism persuading even the hardest of skeptics.

Weaknesses of The Advocate personality 

Sensitive to Criticism – When someone challenges their principles or values, Advocates may react strongly. People with this personality type can become defensive in the face of criticism and conflict, particularly when it comes to issues that are near to their hearts.

Implication- This means that they may lash out or shut down. It also shows that, if not careful, they may shut their minds off to values that are different from theirs. While it is important to stand one’s ground, Advocates need to realise that just because others disagree with their values doesn’t mean that they are being attacked. They can disagree politely & still stand their ground.

Reluctant to Open Up – Advocates value honesty, but they’re also private. They may find it difficult to open up and be vulnerable about their struggles. This might also be because they think they need to solve their problems on their own or don’t want to burden other people with their issues. When Advocates don’t ask for help, they may inadvertently hold themselves back or create distance in their relationships.

Implication- This means that they have a hard time communicating their problems. If they’re having a hard time, it’s going to take them a while to tell someone about it. This can create stress or burnout because they feel they need to solve all their problems completely on their own. Furthermore, the people close to them may feel like the Advocate is trying to push them out of their lives.

Perfectionistic – The Advocate personality is a perfectionist by nature. They often want to do everything perfectly. They often want everything to be in its ideal state. They unfortunately have a tendency to fixate on imperfections. They often see what they’re doing wrong rather than taking the time to enjoy what they’re doing right & other things that are going well.

Implication- this means that they will try so hard to communicate perfectly. The Advocate is the kind of person who will think & rethink what they said long after the conversation is over. They’ll be thinking of how they could’ve said things better. This is the kind of person who will read & re-read an email or a text message after they’ve sent it. While it does show that Advocates are mindful of how they communicate, it also shows that they can become anxious about how what they say comes across in social situations.

Notable personalities like Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Nicole Kidman, Morgan Freeman have been said to have this personality type. Even fictional characters like Galadriel & Aragorn from Lord of the Rings, Michael Scofield from Prison Break and Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird have been identified as having this personality type.

Conclusion 

So, if people know themselves better, they can understand how they prefer to communicate. They will also understand why they are sensitive to certain things that are communicated to them. Or why they are put off by certain tones or personalities. It’s also useful to help one understand how to communicate with people with specific personality types.

This leads to better relationships & inner understanding and peace.

References:

• https://www.16personalities.com/personality-types 
• https://www.16personalities.com/articles/our-theory
• https://www.t-three.com/soak/insights/personality-and-communication-styles Marsh E., Personality and communication styles: do we ever really hear each other?, 2019.