I sat there, facing him, arms to my side, waiting for him to finish what he had to say. I may have looked cool on the outside, but inside I was screaming. Please speak faster, I thought to myself. Get to the point already. My god. I could have gone for coffee and back already. Twice. Okay, maybe I exaggerate.

He spoke at a steady pace. He didn’t repeat himself nor say anything that wasn’t necessary. He was quite intelligent actually. Informed. Knowledgeable. Yet, I like it when people get to the point right away. Like now. He spoke some more.  Now.  He spoke, again. Now. Now. Now. Now.

I’m a Type A personality, sometimes to the extreme. I could give myself a heart attack sometimes. That’s how hard I push myself. I’m also Dominant according to the DISC Personality Profile. I’m also proactive, to the extreme.  Ambivert.  And I think I’m the Conscientiousness type according to the Big Five personality traits.

My friend, probably a Type B. And most likely Steady according to the DISC Personality Profile. And not really an Extrovert, but definitely not an Introvert.

Having the knowledge of personality types simplifies dealing with people. It allows me to categorize people and group several types together. They’re easier to use on people I don’t have a natural rapport with. When I discover a person’s personality type, I can adapt my style to theirs. It makes interactions a lot easier.

I’ve found that the DISC Personality Profile is the easiest and definitely the most fun to work with.  Anthony Robbins has a pretty good online personality test for those who want to give it a try. (https://www.tonyrobbins.com/ue/disc-profile.php)

Below are the descriptions of four personality types. Have fun.

DISC Personality Profile

 

Interaction with the World

Six Facets of Extraversion:	Introvert	Ambivert	Extrovert
Enthusiasm	Holds down positive feelings	Demonstrates some positive feeling	Shows a lot of positive feelings
Sociability	Prefers working alone	Occasionally seeks others	Prefers working with others
Energy Mode	Prefers being still in one place	Maintains a moderate activity level	Prefers to be physically active
Taking Charge	Prefers being independent of others	Accepts some responsibility for others	Enjoys responsibility of leading others
Trusts of Others	Skeptical of others	Is somewhat trusting	Readily trusts others
Tact	Speaks without regard for consequences	Exerts moderate care in selecting words	Carefully selects the right words

Personality Theory