| GETTING COMMUNICATION RIGHT WITH EACH INDIVIDUAL
As we've just completed the Easter holiday, it may be appropriate to start with a pearl of wisdom from Jesus.
You may recall him being quoted as saying "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
Of course it's not just Christians who have gone on to espouse this concept.
Many from other faiths - and none - would agree this enlightened approach truly deserves to be called The Golden Rule.
But when it comes to communication, there's a contemporary school of thought which has advanced on this principle.
It's based on the obvious fact that people of various personality types have different preferences when it comes to being communicated with.
So you should seek to communicate the way that is best for that particular individual.
This means instead of communicating in the way you would like, it is more effective to communicate the way THEY would most like.
This is because the person seeking to impart information is likely to be a different personality type than the person who is receiving it.
This has given rise to what American academic and speaker Dr Tony Alessandra (pictured) has called The Platinum Rule. When it comes to working boosting my client's one-to-one communications skills, I am increasingly impressed by Dr Alessandra's contention that you need to work on the principle of "different strokes for different folks".
It also means that when you examine interactions that you have with different personality types, you can more readily see why things work out the way they do.
Later on I'll tell you the story of how - armed with the insights on communicating with various personality types - encounters I had with two contrasting world leaders ended up with sharply different results.
One was with the then British Prime Minister John Major who had a reputation for greyness and one was with his far more effervescent Canadian counterpart, Brian Mulroney.
But first, let's have a closer look at the different personality types...
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DIFFERENT STOKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS - IN ACTION
The Platinum Rule is not only helpful when you are communicating with someone whose personality you have identified.
It also works when you are dealing with an audience of people who, by virtue of their profession, are likely to have a majority of the same personality type.
For example if I work with engineers, as I'm doing a lot lately, then there are - notwithstanding individual personalities - some common characteristics which most of them share.
In order to guide you through the major personality types I will draw on various British prime ministers who you may remember.
Now individual personalities are of course a complex mix of traits.
But Dr Alessandra has made things easy by identifying four basic personality types.
People are typically a mixture of several, but usually one strand will predominate.
See if you can recognise someone in each group.
And see if you can recognise yourself!
If we can determine the kind of personality type we are dealing with, we can then communicate with that person in a way that THEY would prefer to receive our information.
You can see the benefits when it comes to seeking to persuade someone of a particular personality type to your point of view!!! |
COMMUNICATING WITH THE "DIRECTOR" PERSONALITY - JUST GET TO THE POINT!!!
"Director" personalities at their best can be seen as great initiators.
This is an extrovert, task-orientated person who often gets to a position of power.
Here's one you may recognise...
 The most important thing to the director personality is getting the job done - and the bottom line. Margaret Thatcher, you'll recall, was never too fussed about stamping on people who got in her way.
Some were "handbagged" - and worse.
The director likes to dominate and be in control of a situation.
They tend to be very direct and can appear impatient.
They like specific, measurable results.
In communications terms, The Director wants straight-to-the-point answers and is not too concerned with details - providing enough is given for responses to be credible.
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CONNECTING WITH THE "SOCIALISER" PERSONALITY - OVER A DRINK PERHAPS
"Socialiser" personalities at their best can be seen as great talkers.
This is an extravert with a strong relationship orientation.
They are highly expressive. They enjoy talking about themselves and about you.
The socialiser tends to be highly motivated and thrives on achievement gained through people.
They enjoy having a sense of influence and are often seen as the executive personality.
You might consider this leader to be one of them...
 Socialisers like to organise and co-ordinate teams to accomplish tasks.
They can be highly imaginative, energetic and conceptual.
When it came to justifying the second war in Iraq, many felt Tony Blair was too imaginative!
In communications terms, The Socialiser can be most influenced by testimonials and stories which show the results of other people's experiences.
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GETTING THOUGH TO THE "THINKER" PERSONALITY - TAKE YOUR TIME!!!
"Thinker" personalities at their best are great analysers.
This is a task-orientated introvert.
You might spot quite a few of my engineering friends in this zone.
You are also likely to find many of these personality types in administration, accounting and computer programming.
Accuracy and detail are very important to the thinker.
They are more concerned with getting the job done properly the first time round than with anything else.
The thinker doesn't like being rushed into making decisions as they like time to reflect and mull things over.
They will only feel comfortable making a decision when absolutely satisfied that all their concerns have been covered.
This guy wasn't an engineer...but perhaps he should have been.
Aficionados of British politics may remember that when Gordon Brown took over as Prime Minister he had an early opportunity to go to the polls with a fair chance of being re-elected.
But he thought about it for too long and lost the opportunity.
So when he had to go to an election because the term was completely up, the worst happened for him.
In communications terms, The Thinker wants very specific, detailed information and a methodical approach with evidence and proof.
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CONVEYING YOUR THOUGHTS TO THE "RELATER" PERSONALITY - MAKE SURE THOSE AROUND THEM WILL LIKE IT!!!
The "Relater" can be seen as the great helper.
This is a people-orientated introvert.
They are slow-paced, quiet types who are concerned about being liked by others and getting along as part of a team.
You don't see them rise to the top in politics all that often.
But if you have a longer memory of British politics you might remember one who made it to high office - even if he didn't seem to wield great power.
John Major made a massive effort to keep everybody in his Conservative Party happy and together - at the time of a great rift over whether Britain was better to be inside or outside the European Union.
But for much of his time at Ten Downing Street, the effort to reconcile differences didn't work.
The Relater values the opinions of others and gaining their approval.
They are very sensitive to needs of other people - and are tend to be supportive.
In communications terms, The Relater wants you to be patient, warm and friendly, to slowly emphasise key points and to highlight any positives for those working with them.
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HOW IT WORKED IN REALITY
Some years back as a foreign correspondent I was covering an international conference in Munich between leaders of the leading economic nations then known as the G7.
I was determined to get a one-on-one interview with a world leader to go in my reports for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
I took the chance to approach two leaders at the end of their closing German press conferences.
The first was John Major who listened politely to my interview proposal.
But Relaters like John Major don't tend to want to be rushed into things or make quick decisions.
Mr Major declined citing lack of time (fair enough for a busy leader), though he was awfully nice about it (wanting to keep me happy).
So I went off to the Canadian press conference.
At the end I introduced myself to the Socialiser personality of Canadian Prime Minister, Brian Mulroney.
Mr Mulroney clearly loved talking and was very good at it.
He wanted to get my take on then Australian Prime Minister, Bob Hawke.
And he gave me a generous amount of recording time...just as you might expect that a Socialiser personality would.
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PUTTING IT INTO ACTION
Crafting your communications to suit the style of the recipient can help you impress, inspire and persuade.
I can include the "different strokes for different folks" techniques in various communications-boosting sessions - depending on what's required.
Among those where the techniques are applicable are:
"Becoming That Inspirational Business Leader In A Day"
"Presenting with Confidence, Impact and Pizzazz"
"Programmes To Transform The Communications Skills Of Your Team"
The techniques have less relevance for my master classes on boosting broadcast interview response skills.
This is because when you're being interviewed by the media you need to be less concerned about the personality of the journalist asking the questions and more focused on the audience beyond...which will typically involve all personality types.
Nonetheless factoring in a journalists' personality type can have value in some dealings with them.
Hot Tip: Many journalists fall into Socialiser category... one of the reasons we are fond of having a good chat over a drink!
Keep smiling,
Michael
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