Module 2

Communication Styles
 • understanding
communication styles
• self-assessment
• enhancing your
Agenda communication style
• turn personality clashes into
complimenting relationships

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 Introduction
Your communication style affects your ability to
connect with others. Establishing and
maintaining rapport, credibility and respect
with others depends on your ability to
communicate your expertise, competence and
genuine concern about others.

Communication Styles 3
 • Recall an incident from your life
when you instantaneously
connected with a stranger. What
quality of their conversation style
Activity impressed you the most and why?
Think, recall
• Recall another incident when you
and write your experienced a personality clash
response. with another person. What
attribute of their communication
style did you find disagreeable?

• Why is it so easy to connect with

some people, and not with
others?
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THE GOLDEN RULE:

Treat others the way

you would like to be
treated.

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 THE PLATINUM RULE:

Treat others the way

THEY want to be treated.
Dr Tony Alessandra

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The next activity is based on the article,
“Communication Styles” by Anita Stirling,
printed in the North County Lawyer, Part I –
April 2009, Vol. 26, No. 4, Part II – May 2009,
Vol. 26, No. 5

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The four major communication styles based on
information from the “The Platinum Rule,” by Tony
Alessandra, Ph.D., and Michael J. O’Connor.

These styles are categorized on aspects such as level

of assertiveness, task vs. people orientation and
extroversion vs. introversion.

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 Set 1
For every yes response give yourself 1 point.

1. Do you value relationships, peace and 6. Do your peers consider you a team player?
harmony above all else?
7. Do you fear change or risk?
2. Are you a good listener?
8. Do you feel shy about voicing contrary
3. Are you good at collaborations and give opinions?
importance to consensus?
9. Would you describe yourself as very
4. Are you easygoing and like to move at a sensitive and touchy?
steady pace?
10. Do you dislike disagreements and conflict?
5. Are you considered unassertive by family,
friends, teachers and colleagues?

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 Set 2
For every yes response give yourself 1 point.

1. Do you value accuracy in detail? Does 6. Are you highly organized so much so
it drive you crazy when people get that you even plan spontaneity?
their facts mixed up? 7. Is procrastination a tendency you
2. Are you quick to think but slow to struggle to overcome?
speak?
8. Do you fear risk?
3. Are you inclined to use logic and 9. Are you thoughtful and reflective by
realism to solve problems? nature?
4. Are you considered difficult to know? 10. Do you have a reputation of being a
5. Do you have a propensity to be overly prudent decision maker?
picky and cautious?

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 Set 3
For every yes response give yourself 1 point.

1. Are you talkative and expressive ? 6. Do you like to take other people’s opinions
2. Are you very open about yourself and to solve problems?
private matters? 7. Do you think of yourself as highly
3. Do have a reputation of being full of persuasive?
enthusiastic ideas and visions? 8. Do you tend garner a lot of attention in
parties and events?
4. Would you call yourself an eternal optimist
because you believe that no situation is 9. Do you tend to take on too many things at
beyond hope? once and have trouble following through?
5. Do you tend to make a grand but late 10. Do you get easily bored and like change?
entrance to events?

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 Set 4
For every yes response give yourself 1 point.

1. Are you impatient with people who move 6. Do you find it difficult to accept points of
slowly or fear/resist change? view that are divergent from your own?
2. Do you like to take charge in tackling 7. Do you value task well done over other
problems head-on? people’s opinions?
3. Do you find it easy to manage people, 8. Are you fearless and highly enterprising or
delegate tasks and give orders? competitive?
4. Are you private about personal matters but 9. Would you call yourself a poor listener?
not shy about them? 10. Do your friends and peer accuse of being
5. Are you frequently accused of being insensitive or a bully?
controlling and inflexible?

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Calculate your points in each set.

Take a few minutes to

assess your score.

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 Result
• If you scored the maximum points
in set 1, you are the supporter-
relator type.
• If you scored the maximum points
in set 2, you are the analyzer-
thinker type.
• If you scored the maximum points
in set 3, you are the promoter-
socializer type.
• If you scored the maximum points
in set 4, you are the controller-
director type.

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 1 2 3 4
The Supporter- The Analyzer- The Promoter- The Controller-
Relator or The Thinker or The Socializer or Director or The
Relationship- Idea Oriented The People Results Oriented
Oriented Oriented Commander
Harmonizer Visionary

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 The Supporter-Relator or
The Relationship-Oriented
Harmonizer

How would you deal with

this type?
Positive Traits of a Supporter-Relater:
• Great listening skills
• Easily establish rapport and trust with others
• They make people feel valued, appreciated and accepted.
• They have a natural inclination to do well at team-work,
collaboration.
• They strive for consensus.

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 Scope for Improvement:
• Cultivate assertiveness and try to stay on task.
• Speak firmly and directly by making use of direct
statements and questions.
• Establish steady eye contact while communicating.
• Ensure your body language matches your words.
• Avoid speaking too much on personal matters and
be attentive to time constraints.
• Orient yourself towards information and facts, in
addition to relationships.

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 Points to Remember while Communicating
with a Supporter-relater:
• Be warm, friendly and sincere in your approach.
• Don’t rush to the bottom line with them. Make sure you spend
enough time engaging them personally before you get to the
main idea.
• Try to ease them into conversation through some small talk.
• Give them space to discuss their feelings, especially their fears
and concerns.
• Encourage them to express difference of opinions – remember,
they have trouble with assertiveness. This will ensure that they are
not just agreeing with you to avoid conflict.
• Help them balance tangible and practical aspects with their
concern for relationships.
• Appreciate and praise their team player skills and relationships.

9/3/20XX Presentation Title 20

The Analyzer-Thinker
or The Idea Oriented

How would you deal with

this type?
Positive Traits of an Analyzer-thinker
• task-oriented people
• thoughtful and reflective
• fair-minded-consider all points of view and
weigh all options carefully.
• good planners- attention to details and facts
• great problem-solvers
• efficient and thorough in completing tasks
• attentive to mistakes and flaws in any situation.

9/3/20XX Presentation Title 22

 Scope for Improvement:
• Try to improve your sensitivity to others.
• Be more assertive, use direct statements and ask direct
questions.
• Ensure your body language matches your words.
• Practicing good listening skills to show interest in others.
• Be open to discuss personal matters (sometimes), rather
than always focusing just on the task at hand.
• Be responsive to the feelings of other people by
acknowledging them.
• Don’t get obsessed about the facts or truth.

9/3/20XX Presentation Title 23

Points to be remember while communicating with
an analyzer-thinker:
• Try to acknowledge and respond to their need for
efficiency, thoroughness, organization and accuracy.
• Be systematic in your presentation, interview or
discussion with them.
• Address the tangible facts, figures and aspects before
expressing feelings.
• Give them time to review the risks of a given situation
properly. Allow them time for contemplation and
analysis.
• Assure them of their built-in safeguards to encourage
them to take risks.
• Don’t rush the thinking process.
• Compliment their efficiency and accuracy.
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The Promoter-Socializer
or The People Oriented
Visionary
How would you deal with this
type?
Positive Traits of a Promoter-socializer:
• excellent communication skills
• hopeful and optimistic
• dramatic and persuasive
• capable of holding the attention of your others
easily
• excellent creative thinkers
• full of innovative options, visions or ideas
• intuitive and focused on relevant issues and
concerns

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 Scope for Improvement:
• Inculcate orientation towards information and facts.
• Improve your attention to accuracy of information
and details. Structure your thoughts.
• Research and gather information needed to follow
through on your ideas and visions.
• Well thought out ideas will impress people.
• Stay focused by avoiding distractions and boredom.
• Use guidelines and deadlines to stay on task.
• Balance the urge to build relationships with the need
to accomplishing tasks.
• Use persuasiveness with integrity - avoid pushing
your own agenda.

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 Points to remember while communicating with a
promoter-socializer:
• Acknowledge their ideas and visions.
• Compliment their achievements.
• Do not rush the conversation – let them talk about
their concerns.
• Use animation, hand gestures and vocal variety
while speaking to them to keep them interested.
• Don’t drag discussion on a topic, they are easily
bored.
• Confirm all agreements in writing with clear
guideposts.
• Avoid arguments with them.

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 The Controller-
Director or The
Results Oriented
Commander
How would you deal with this
type ?
 Positive Traits of a Controller-director:
• efficient and competent
• focused, decisive,
• risk-takers
• good leaders - delegate tasks to others easily
• like challenges that other people would avoid
• not afraid to tell the truth or make hard
decisions
• not shy about asking tough or difficult
questions

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 Scope for Improvement:
• Be sensitive to other people by listening intently.
• Learn to be team player by considering the ideas of others.
• Show interest in the personal lives of people.
• Check your tendency to be impatient.
• Let others talk – do not interrupt.
• Consider the underlying issues and not just the bottom line.
• Learn to work with others and convey your appreciation of their
contributions to the task.
• Allow others to participate in the decision-making process.
• Encourage others to come up with solutions to their problems.
• Be respectful of other people’s sentiments.

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Points to remember while communicating with
a controller-director:
• Be assertive, but respectful.
• Be physically, mentally and emotionally centered before
an interview or discussion.
• Maintain a formal, business-like relationship.
• Focus on the task, rather than personal feelings.
• Emphasize efficiency, productivity and the bottom line.
• Do your homework – do not arrive unprepared.
• Compliment their leadership and efficiency.

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 Communication Styles :
patterns of behaviour that
1. Passive people tend to repeat across
2. Passive-Aggressive different social settings to
3. Aggressive relate with others.
4. Assertive

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 Passive Aggressive Passive- Aggressive Assertive

9/3/20XX 36
 The DISC Model of Behavior was first
proposed by William Moulton
Marston, a physiological psychologist
with a Ph.D. from Harvard. His 1928
DISC Types book, Emotions of Normal People,
explains his theory of how normal
human emotions lead to behavioral
differences among groups of people
and how a person’s behavior might
change over time.

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Presentation Title 38
 SOLO ACTIVITY
RECALL 5 ADJECTIVES TO
DESCRIBE EACH OF THE
FOUR DISC TYPES.

TIME LIMIT- 5 MINUTES

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 Activity:
Assessment Time!
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 Calculate your points.

Take a few minutes to

assess your score.

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9/3/20XX Presentation Title 44
PACE AND PRIORITY
OF EACH STYLE
PACE and PRIORITY
represent two of the main
sources of tension between
the styles.
• D & C and I & S have
different PACES:- D & I
are faster-paced, and S &
C are slower-paced.
• D & I and S & C have
different PRIORITIES: D &
C are task-oriented, and I
and S are people
oriented
• D & S and I &C have both
PACE and PRIORITY
DIFFERENCES.

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CHEAT SHEET TO
COMMUNICATE
BETTER.

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Thank you!

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