What Type of Communicator Are You?

By Rochelle Blanch

Has anyone ever asked you if you were a good communicator? Some people may mumble their quiet response while others may scream it from the rooftops. Either way, everyone’s style of communicating in either a personal or professional environment is different but how does this affect your relationships?

The WordStorm team was joined by Catherine from Behind the Scenes Communications, who spoke to us about communication and how to identify our own communication style and others. She informed us that there are four distinct communication styles and some of us blend across a few of them. These communication styles include:

Systematic
Considerate
Direct
Spirited

What we found interesting is the diverse range of styles we had in the office and that some of us used styles we were not expecting. Catherine explained to us that if we learn about the different communication styles we will be better equipped to deal with clients and journalists who possess this styles. Sounds easy right? Not so much!

What I found incredibly interesting in the workshop was that words only account for 7% of our communication. Voice, body language and special surroundings accounted for the remaining 93%.

At one point we were given the task of performing a skit in which we were all given an identical script but with different scenarios. For this reason we needed to focus on our voice, body language and spacing and not only on the words in front of us. Many of us were successful but we discovered the inner Cate Blanchett in Elena – a rising star in our opinion.

In analysing the different communications styles we found ways to identify our trouble areas and how to utilise our skills in the workplace. The workshop was a success and explained to us clearly and easily about communications and our different styles.

So would you like to know what style of communicator you are? See the clues below to find out.

Direct