Posted by Etta AuYeung on August 11, 2014 at 9:45am

 

Everyone is a snowflake. We all have some ideas that, based on the type of personality a person has, there are different ways to interact and communicate so that the other person can feel more at ease and relaxed.

Understanding your own personality, as well as your customer’s, is very helpful for making an interaction more comfortable and for ensuring you are communicating fully. We recommend having a fun team-building exercise to learn about your own personality, as well as sharing it with your team.

When it comes to customers, it would be nice if we could ask each of them to take a personality test before interacting with them based on the test results. But, of course, we don’t do that.

So, let us look at personality types that are readily observable and do not require taking a test. They are extroverts and introverts.

 

Recognize These Observable Characteristics^[1]

	Extroverts		Introverts
Body Language:	Animated		Less animated
Facial Expression:	Animated		Less animated
Conversation:	Like to talkExpress opinions readily and volunteer information quickly and easily before being asked		Reserved and quietWait for you to initiate the conversation and are slower, more thoughtful, before responding
Voices:	More expressive with good volume and inflection		Softer with less inflection
Eye Contact:	Good		Less
Thought Process	Talking help them think		Pause while they think

As you go through these characteristics, I’m sure you can think of people that fit each description.

 

How to communicate with them?

Now that we know what the characteristics are for extroverts and introverts, how should we communicate and interact with them to help them feel more at ease? It is generally easier for people with similar personalities to interact and communicate with one another. If you are an extrovert and the other person is also an extrovert, just be yourself and a rapport will build. The same goes for introverts.

The trickier part is interacting with the opposite type, matching an introvert with an extrovert or vice versa. Below, you’ll learn techniques to help your customers be more comfortable in the interaction.

If you feel you are fundamentally an introvert communicating with an extrovert:

• Be aware of your nonverbal language. ^[2]
• Match extrovert’s voice volume and tone.
• Paraphrase back to ensure understanding and to slow down the flow of information.
• Be friendly and make small talk.
• Practice good eye contact.
• It is difficult for an introvert sometimes to respond as quickly as the extrovert would anticipate. Let them know that you need a minute to assimilate the ideas.

If you are fundamentally an extrovert communicating with an introvert:

• Reduce your voice volume, rate, and voice variety.
• Give introverts time to reflect and study choices before asking the next question.
• Avoid surprise intrusions and interruptions.
• Have less direct eye contact.

Remember, one type of person is not better or worse than another. Having training on understanding you and your colleagues’ personality is a great team-building exercise. In fact, a successful team would ideally have a mix of different people looking at things in different ways.