2. Differing Communication Styles and How to Get Them to Work Together
Are You Talking to Me?
Differing Communication Styles and How to Get Them to Work Together

3. Brittnay McMillian Assistant Director for Transfer Recruitment The University of Alabama Melinda Williams Senior Scholarship Counselor
Talk about why after intros

4. Overview Quiz Discussion of communication styles Scenarios
Working with different communication styles
Wrap up

5. Quiz
What’s your style?

6. Thinker Positives Negatives Likes structure
Has talent for analyzing a situation
Treats people fairly
Follows policies and rules
Values accuracy and preciseness
Does not always act with urgency due to being overly cautious
Does not always see the value in working as a team
Does not always take others’ feelings into account

7. Connector Positives Negatives Builds rapport Communicates tactfully
Considers impact on people when making decisions
Takes an interest in the person behind the job
Overly personalizes situations
Occasionally overlooks important details
Sometimes allows relationships to cloud judgement
Not planning accordingly often causes disorganization

8. Controller/Director Positives Negatives
Focuses on actions, results and rewards
Acts in a way that is resourceful, determined and practical
Makes decisions quickly
Works efficiently
Can be impulsive, competitive, aggressive and impatient
Can alienate others when under stress
Can be poor listeners; often interrupts

9. Influencer Positives Negatives Inspires and encourages others
Focuses on ways to improve the situation around them
Visionary
Loves to learn new skills
May procrastinate
May not follow through on tasks
May be absent-minded
May seem impractical in decision making
May seem hard to read

10. Scenarios
How do we use this?

11. Scenario Questions Which scenario did you choose?
How did you make that decision?
How did you come to a solution?
What did that process look like?
What part did everyone play in the discussion?
Who controlled the discussion?
What was your solution?

12. Communicating with a Thinker
Be precise; state the facts
Organize your discussion in a logical order
Include options and alternatives with pros and cons
Do not rush a process-oriented person

13. Communicating with a Connector
Allow for small talk; do not jump right in to the topic at hand
Stress the relationship between your proposal and the people concerned
Show how the idea worked well in the past
Indicate support from well-respected people

14. Communicating with a Controller/Director
Focus on the result first; state the conclusion at the outset
State your best recommendation; do not offer many alternatives
Be as brief as possible
Emphasize the practicality of your ideas

15. Communicating with an Influencer
Allow enough time for discussion
Try to relate the discussed topic to a broader concept or idea
Stress the uniqueness of the idea
Emphasize future value or relate the impact of the idea to the future

16. Conclusion
What do we do with this?

17. Sources Communication Styles: A Self-Assessment Exercise
(Based on the work of P Case “Teaching for the Cross-Cultural Mind” Washington, DC, SIETAR, 1981
Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities
Edu/Files/Communication%20Styles%20Assessment.doc

18. Questions??