Originally Posted on August 29, 2018, Navitor Blog:
Written by Emily Roycraft
We all communicate differently. Some people speak loudly and make big gestures, some people spend their time listening and quietly responding, some people prefer to show charts and graphs, and still other people like to tell a story. Every communication style brings advantages and disadvantages with it—that’s why we’ve created this quiz for you to take a closer look at your communication style.
1. When you listen, what is your most common complaint?
A. People are too dry
B. People don’t give enough detail.
C. People are too emotional
D. People don’t connect on a personal level
2. How do you prefer to format your sales pitch?
A. I go with my gut—it helps to make adjustments on the fly!
B. I look for a logical progression from what I know about my customer to what products I think would best suit their needs.
C. I focus on the task at hand: a quick introduction to the specifics of the product
D. I talk to them about their business first, then connect what I hear to what I can do for them
3. What can you never have too much of?
A. Reassurance
B. Information
C. Practicality
D. Connection
4. How do you prepare for a presentation?
A. Make an outline, but leave the specifics for the moment
B. Make a list of important facts and figures
C. Make a powerpoint presentation
D. Make a handout for your audience
5. What is your favorite way to reach out to customers?
A. One-on-one conversations
B. Case studies with useful data
C. Tutorials and “how to” guides
D. Networking events or tradeshow booth hosting
ANSWERS
Mostly A’s: Intuitive
You’re the kind of person who goes with their gut. You adapt quickly to new situations because you follow where your gut takes you. This can be a great skill to have, but make sure that you’ve spent the time supporting your gut instincts with facts so that you can also connect with more analytically-minded listeners. Speaking of analytical…
Mostly B’s: Analytical
You’re probably the most likely person in the room to have a checklist, chart, or graph at the ready. You love digging deeper into information to really get to know the facts and figures of what you’re talking about. However, it’s important for you to shift course on occasion.
Mostly C’s: Functional
You’re probably the sort of person who prefers that every word pulls its weight. You like for all of your communication to be functional, and that is a great way to express information. However, it can also come across as impersonal, so be sure that you are taking the time to add those personal connections around the functional information.
Mostly D’s: Personal
You’re a classic people person! You thrive on interpersonal relationships and, when communicating with people, you want to get to know them while you’re talking about other things. This is a great way to build rapport, but it makes it easy to miss important informational pieces along the way.
So, what’s your communication style? We’d love to see you join the conversation in the comments below.