Communication Style Assessment

Every person has a unique communication style, a way in which they interact and exchange information with others. There are different ways to approach the conversation. They include focusing on important topics and big ideas or on laughing and enjoying the conversation, being quick to the point or weighing each answer out very carefully, having difficulty breaking the silence, or hard time staying silent around people. It also depends on the level of using non-verbal language, such as pauses, as a tool and use of visual aids, with few words. Some people opt for a formal style of communication, while some are more casual also leading to a different level of sharing. Some are very expressive, have a lot to say and open to disagreeing with others while others are more calm, quiet and polite. Just like our appearances and personalities, our communication styles are different and understanding them is a great first step to becoming a better version of yourself.

There are 4 key pairs of communication styles:

1. Assertive (also known as Open) vs Reserved

- People with an Open communication style enjoy being surrounded by other people, are willing to share their thoughts and emotions with others, and like to talk about themselves and others.

- People with a Reserved communication style prefer to keep a certain distance in their interpersonal relationships and though they are great keepers of secrets

2. Personal vs Analytical (also known as Professional Communication)

- People with a Personable communication style tend to like warm and chatty Personable relationships, and make everybody feel welcome and appreciated.

- People with a Professional communication style communicate in a clear and specific way and may be perceived as rather serious.

3. Direct vs Indirect (also known as Aggressive vs. Passive)

- People with a Direct communication style are transparent about what they think and feel, and rarely use pretense or hidden messages.

- People with an Indirect communication style convey their message not only through words but also through non-verbal signs, such as posture or facial expression, try to avoid confrontation and conflicts with other people, and tend to talk around a subject to achieve this.

4. Intuitive vs Functional

- People with an Intuitive communication style are interested in the big picture and broad ideas.

- People with a Functional communication style communicate in a step-by-step, logical fashion so nothing gets missed.

There are several models used to identify one’s communication styles. One of them is Carl Jung’s behavior styles theory focuses on four basic psychological functions:

- Extraversion vs. Introversion: How do you relate to the world and focus your energy?

- Sensation vs. Intuition: How do you perceive information?

- Thinking vs. Feeling: How do you make decisions?

- Judging vs. Perceiving: How do you orient yourself to the outside world?

The other one is the DISC Leadership Communication profile. DISC is an acronym that stands for the four main personality profiles:

- Dominance – confident and result-oriented,

- Influence – open,

- Steadiness - dependable and cooperative,

- Conscientiousness - quality, accuracy, expertise, and competency.

There are a few other approaches to identify communication styles. We have tried our best to choose the best parts from different models for this test.

There are many ways in which interpersonal communication can be defined, and researchers in this field of communication styles realize the lack of an integrative communication model (De Vries et al., 2009). Literature presents various communication models but none have yet reduced a person’s communication style to her or his basic personality traits. This is because interpersonal communication is based not only on personality but on context, on the situation and number of participants involved, and their interpersonal relationships (eg. strangers, friends, coworkers, family, boss-employee), on their actual communication abilities. For example, Trenholm and Jensen (2008) defined interpersonal communication as a dyadic communication in which two individuals share roles such as sender and receiver, and who remain connected through creating meaning. “Interpersonal communication refers to the exchange of messages, verbal and nonverbal, between people, regardless of the relationship they share… Thus, interpersonal communication includes the exchange of messages in all sorts of relationships, ranging from functional to causal to intimate” (Guerrero et al, 2007). Canary et al (2003) see interpersonal communication used in order to reach personal goals through social interaction. These definitions all represent interpersonal communication as involving some form of mutual activity, interaction, or exchange. Literature presents many studies of communication styles models (DeBakey’s Adaptive Matrices, 2007; Mitchel’s and Winick’s Colour Model, 2006; De Vries et al 2009).