Transcript SACRAO 2016x

Are You Talking to
Me?
Differing Communication Styles and How to Get Them
to Work Together
Brittnay McMillian
Assistant Director for Transfer Recruitment
The University of Alabama
Melinda Williams
Senior Scholarship Counselor
The University of Alabama
Overview
■ Quiz
■ Discussion of communication styles
■ Scenarios
■ Working with different communication styles
■ Wrap up
QUIZ
What’s your style?
Thinker
Positives
Negatives
■ Likes structure
■ Does not always act with urgency
due to being overly cautious
■ Has talent for analyzing a situation
■ Treats people fairly
■ Follows policies and rules
■ Values accuracy and preciseness
■ Does not always see the value in
working as a team
■ Does not always take others’
feelings into account
Connector
Positives
Negatives
■ Builds rapport
■ Overly personalizes situations
■ Communicates tactfully
■ Occasionally overlooks important
details
■ Considers impact on people when
making decisions
■ Takes an interest in the person
behind the job
■ Sometimes allows relationships to
cloud judgement
■ Not planning accordingly often
causes disorganization
Controller/Director
Positives
Negatives
■ Focuses on actions, results and
rewards
■ Can be impulsive, competitive,
aggressive and impatient
■ Acts in a way that is resourceful,
determined and practical
■ Can alienate others when under
stress
■ Makes decisions quickly
■ Can be poor listeners; often
interrupts
■ Works efficiently
Influencer
Positives
Negatives
■ Inspires and encourages others
■ May procrastinate
■ Focuses on ways to improve the
situation around them
■ May not follow through on tasks
■ Visionary
■ Loves to learn new skills
■ May be absent-minded
■ May seem impractical in decision
making
■ May seem hard to read
SCENARIOS
How do we use this?
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?
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
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
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
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
CONCLUSION
What do we do with this?
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
– http://dbhdd.georgia.gov/DHR-DFCS/DHR_DFCSEdu/Files/Communication%20Styles%20Assessment.doc
Questions??