Watch Your Language

Communication Effectiveness

Of the four MBTI dichotomies, the gifts of Sensing and Intuition are most important in terms of your communication style, teaching style and learning style. So behaviorally, in interactions with one another, such as clients, you’ll spot it early and often in actions, as well as in speech. Everyone uses both these communication tools and has a “preference” and a trust for using one over the other.

Sensing
For those of you who prefer Sensing (S) … remember if you are engaging primarily with the world through your five senses, you are going to be “here and now” focused — thinking in the past and in the present because it’s the present where your senses are. In the past, you have a record, an archive — an imprint of the sensory impressions you’ve collected in the past. So, with a preference for approaching your leadership role as a sensor, you’ll tend to be “past and present focused” and your “linear-like” questions and attention will reflect that preference most often. Your communication gift to others is that you are detailed, practical, specific and sequential. Your focus will mainly be on what is immediate and real, and you will live life as it is rather than attempting/desiring to change the business and/or the world. While sensing perceptions are naturally your gift, when intuition is needed/required in the form of “thinking outside the box,” creating new ideas, imagining possibilities and strategizing, you may feel like too much intuitive attention is a “waste of time.” This inattention could cause you to tune out and miss the implications and meanings of important intuitive information being communicated. Self-awareness is a key to your learning and communication success.

Intuition
For those of you who prefer Intuition (N) — not as tied to the “here and now,” you prefer living in or visualizing the future, thinking of the big picture, abstractions, connections, meanings and imaginations as you absorb complex and futuristic external challenges. You will likely process data more deeply than others who prefer Sensing (S) because you naturally trust your “sixth sense” or intuition about any given topic. Good at spotting patterns and taking a high-level view, as opposed to digging into specifics, details, or facts. You prefer new ideas and are inspired by “what could be” and rather bored with “what is.” You enjoy change and hope/plan to change the world rather than continue to live in what you may consider an “imperfect present.” While intuitive perceptions are naturally your gift, they also become your challenge when communicating with people who value sensing perceptions. Your intuitive data gathering process may, at times, be too complex and time consuming especially when it comes to communicating about a matter where a focus on the specific facts will resolve/explain the issue at hand. Self-awareness is a key to your learning and communication success.