In last week’s column we discussed the importance of tailoring your communication style to the specific personality type of the listener.
Unless you tailor your delivery correctly, you risk losing your audience, according to Jennifer Philips, founder of Gateway Partners International.
Personality types range from dominant to submissive and everywhere in between. Dominant personalities want to know just the facts, and make fast decisions.
People with influential personalities are generally talkative and social. They want to get to know you before doing business with you. Steady, compliant personalities want to know all the details before they make a decision.
Try to identify the type of personality you are dealing with in advance, and adjust your presentation accordingly.
Sometimes their profession will give you a clue about the personality type.
CEOs typically have dominant personalities, while CPAs are usually steady and compliant. Marketing professionals usually have influential, social personalities.
If you are still unsure, ask a simple question like “What made you get into your profession?” If the response is short and to the point, they probably have a dominant personality. If they tell you a long involved story, they probably have a social personality.
When you give a presentation to a large group of people, how do you cater to every personality type without losing any of them? You must have multiple channels of communication, one for each of them.
Your presentation itself and all visual aids should be short and to the point. Use more images and less text in the PowerPoint presentation.
The dominant personalities will appreciate this, and it is the only style that will not alienate anyone. For the steady, compliant types who want more information, provide a detailed handout to all attendees.
Finally, tell the audience you will be available to talk afterward if they have any questions. This satisfies the needs of the social, influential personalities.
