What's Your Communication Style?
How do you come across to others at work?
watch a summary
When someone shares an idea with you at work … What do you pay attention to first?
You wonder ‘why’, and the bigger picture it fits into.
You think about the details and logistics?
You consider the risks.
You reflect on what other people will think.
You hope it’ll make your job easier.
Depending on your answer, you communicate a certain way. Why? Your brain prioritises certain things. It’s what makes you excellent at your job.
And because everyone is different, chances are how you see yourself and how others see you at work can be polar opposites.
How to change that? By working to your strengths and helping others see your expertise.
Which best describes you?
🧐 DETAIL ROCKSTAR 🧐
You appreciate that excellence is a series of tiny details, executed perfectly.
As a result, you enjoy certainty and controllable variables.
You have respect for things that are done well.
Your brain picks up the minutiae of any project and zooms into making sure it’s precise.
You can pick up on the smallest details to minimise mistakes or overlooking something that can make work more streamlined.
Uncertainty and ambiguity is your kryptonite.
You make others better at their jobs, too.
Because you are so attuned to the details, people think twice before sending you work to approve.
As a result, they fine tune their skills, improving their level of insight across the details.
Being prepared is something you value highly.
You feel most comfortable when you know what to expect and how to prepare. When you have all the facts, you can take total responsibility.
What do others think of you at work?
The perception is that you’re happiest in the details, getting it done.
Because you are uncomfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity, it can form an impression, rightly or wrongly, that you are not suited to strategic work or leadership roles (which have lots of both).
Does this ring true for you?
In your role, it’s already assumed you’re competent.
You probably have an excellent track record. If you want to be seen differently with people you’re looking to impress, illustrate how what you do helps the bigger picture.
❤️ HEART SUPERSTAR ❤️
You love helping others succeed.
You feel you are doing your most important work when other people are empowered.
You feel energised when someone in your network wins, for example.
You are always coming up with creative ways to help other people.
Chances are, people wait in line to get face time with you.
You make them feel heard, and listened to.
As a result, people are instinctively drawn to you.
You may find yourself often taking time out of your day to guide people through tricky scenarios or help someone turn around their day.
Because you are wired to help others, you’re also good at reading a room.
Wow, can you pick up on body language and verbal communication!
Because you have high emotional intelligence, you are talented at putting others at ease.
People gravitate to you and you know everyone at work. People love knowing you because you make them feel good.
Natural warmth and sincere attention in others? That’s you.
What do others think of you at work?
Because you make people feel at ease, people can overlook the fact you’re excellent at your job.
For an empathetic person, this can be frustrating. You put in so much work to make sure someone feels validated and heard, you expect they’d see how much skill goes into that right?
Not always. You can change their impressions of you, by communicating differently.
Get tips on how to do this according to your style by taking this quiz.
👩🏻💻 GET STUFF DONE DOER 👩🏻💻
You are wired to take action.
You love to have lots of things on the boil and thrive with a busy schedule.
Deadlines energise you and help you get it all done.
You are motivated by the promise of an end product. ‘Done’ is the goal!
You’re autonomous and can get on with work without much supervision.
You are a force of nature. When things get in your way, you’ve been known to re-invent the process, to make it happen. You push for speedy action, charging towards an outcome.
You take total ownership. You make sure everything you are committed to is seen through.
Because you take total responsibility, it irks you when people indulge in complaining or avoid getting the job done.
What’s it like to work with you?
People can find it tough to collaborate with you and hold back from taking action, assuming you’ll do it anyways. Why?
🏔 VISION BUILDER 🏔
You are a big picture person.
Your brain loves to dream up a ‘future state’ and imagine what is possible.
Instead of getting bogged down in what isn’t, or worrying about negatives, your brain instinctively thinks about future possibilities.
You’re probably good at coming up with new ideas or finding better ways of doing things.
You’re not interested in talking about what is not possible.
Or complaining, in general. In your mind, you think: what’s the point?
Details? Agendas? Spreadsheets? Also not your vibe. You prefer to focus on the long term impact of the work and what is possible.
You can be misunderstood at work, though.
Differently to you, many other people don’t think ‘big picture’. They focus on things like the details, timelines, risks and the day-to-day reality.
As a result, they can shy away from your ideas, finding them ill researched or lacking substance. They might even critique them instead.
🤓 GOVERNANCE GUIDER 🤓
You are intelligent, thoughtful and contemplative.
Brilliant at digesting complex information, you excel at translating it into your own context.
You like to do things well rather than jump into things right away.
Motivated by certainty and avoiding mistakes, in your mind, mistakes are avoidable risks by thinking an idea through carefully.
Your antenna is attuned to what could go wrong, rather than what could go right. To be convinced otherwise, you need evidence to prove it.
You stick to the facts when you communicate.
When communicating with others, you prefer to respond once you have the facts rather than on the spot, without consideration.
At work, you need time and space to think deeply so you can give a considered response.
You can be misunderstood at work, though.
Differently to you, many other people don’t think about the risks, or what could go wrong. They prefer to focus on the future possibilities and what they can do.
This can be frustrating for you. It can seem as though they are undermining your expertise.
When you let them know of the risks and negatives of an idea, you can come across as overly critical.
You know that’s not the case. You’re just keeping them safe.
So how to turn that perception around?
What could your team do, if you all understood each other a little better?
Did you know we run this workshop at workplaces?
You get to identify your communication style, and tips on how to communicate differently to get people to pay attention.
The workshop also includes the online course, so you can watch short videos to refresh your memory on how to capture people's attention before sharing your ideas.
Download an info pack to share with your boss or Learning & Development representative.