NCMA WEC: 3-1-12
Patricia D. Robinson
BEST Communications Styles Workshop
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We each have general
personality patterns
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These patterns are expressed in
our interactions with others
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Understanding these patterns in
ourselves and others can help
us improve communications,
work relationships, and
teamwork
BEST Communications Styles Workshop
BEST Communications Style 2
Workshop
AGENDA:
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Overview
Table Team Activity
BEST Communication Styles Model
Flexing Your Style
Team Profiles / Dynamics
Debrief
12:45 – 12:55
12:55 – 1:15
1:15 – 1:30
1:30 – 1:45
1:45 – 2:00
2:00 – 2:15
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BEST Communications Styles Workshop
Description: Table teams work together to build a block
structure to their customer’s exact specifications:
 Roles:
Customer
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Build a structure with your blocks
Use cardboard to hide your structure
DO NOT show or draw a picture of structure
DO NOT volunteer information
You decide if structure meets specifications
BD/PM; Eng; Ops/Manuf
 Work with your team to build
structure to customer’s exact
specifications
 Keep track of communication on the team:
 What works well?
 What do you find frustrating?
15 min
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BEST Communications Styles Workshop
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Break into teams, based on your highest scoring letter
on your BEST Profile / Assessment:
B
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E
S
T
Discuss:
◦ What aspects of the team’s communication worked well for you?
◦ What aspects did you find frustrating?
◦ Choose a spokesperson from your table
5 min
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BEST Communications Styles Workshop
Preferences:
B old
Challenges
Freedom
Power
Quick Results
Authority
Action
Change
E xpressive
Popularity
Influence
Acceptance
To be around People
To Persuade
S ympathetic
Adjustment Time
Stability
Appreciation
Schedule
T echnical
Organization
Rules
Standards
Explanations
Little Risk
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BEST Communications Styles Workshop
Dimensions of Communications:
 Reflecting Emotions = Expressiveness
 Influencing Others = Dominance
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BEST Communications Styles Workshop
Thinkers
Feelers
Low
High
Expressiveness
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BEST Communications Styles Workshop
High
Dominance
Direct
Indirect
Low
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BEST Communications Styles Workshop
Direct
Indirect
BOLD
EXPRESSIVE
(Direct Thinker)
(Direct Feeler)
TECHNICAL
SYMPATHETIC
(Indirect Thinker)
(Indirect Feeler)
Thinker
Feeler
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BEST Communications Styles Workshop
What:
 Results
 Objectives
 Achieving
 Doing
BOLD
EXPRESSIVE
Action
Process
TECHNICAL
SYMPATHETIC
Why:
 Concepts
 Theories
 Innovation
How:
 Strategies
 Organization
 Facts
Who:
 Communication
 Relationships
 Teamwork
Ideas
People
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BEST Communications Styles Workshop
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old is stimulated by the
of new adventure.
xpressive thrives on being around others and
ympathetic is patient,
echnical is controlled, cautious,
them.
, loyal, a good listener.
, rule-oriented.
Each type has needs and preferences which are the keys
to understanding, communicating with and motivating them.
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BEST Communications Styles Workshop
 Need to adjust your style to others to improve communications
Indirect
Direct
 Which styles do you think tend to clash most?
BOLD
EXPRESSIVE
TECHNICAL
SYMPATHETIC
Thinker
Feeler
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BEST Communications Styles Workshop
In your assigned groups, come up with the Top 5 things you should do to FLEX to the
opposing communication style:
Bold vs. Sympathetic
 Technical vs. Expressive
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BOLD
EXPRESSIVE
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TECHNICAL
S
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SYMPATHETIC
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BEST Communications Styles Workshop
Now choose someone from your group to represent your preferred
Communications Style. He/she will participate in a role play:
1.
Bold with
2.
Technical with
Sympathetic
Expressive
Objective:
Based on what you know about your colleague’s preferred communication
style, convince him/her to forfeit their vacation and work on your program
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BEST Communications Styles Workshop
Scenario:
 You need the help of a colleague to meet a critical program deadline with a
key customer who has been complaining about slow progress & cost overruns.
 Your colleague -- not on this program team -- has unique customer and
technical knowledge that would enable the program team to:
• meet deadline ahead of schedule
• realize significant cost savings
• create good will with the customer
 Your colleague is scheduled to take a vacation with several friends/family
members that has been planned for months:
• there won’t be another opportunity to take the vacation again until next
year and several family members will not be available at that time.
• tickets are non-refundable.
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BEST Communications Styles Workshop
Debrief
1. What did you find challenging about flexing to the other person’s style?
2. How well did each flex to the other person’s preferred style?
Compare to communication preferences below:
Preferences:
Limitations:
B old
Challenges
Freedom
Power
Quick Results
Authority
Action
Change
Learn to Listen
Attend to Details
Be Aware of Others
Follow
E xpressive
Popularity
Influence
Acceptance
To be around People
To Persuade
Manage Time
Be Objective
Set Goals
Attend to Details
Control Talking
S ympathetic
Adjustment Time
Stability
Appreciation
Schedule
Set Deadlines
Use Lead Time
Get Attention
Be Understood
T echnical
Organization
Rules
Standards
Explanations
Little Risk
Make Quicker Decisions
Use More Power
Take Quicker Action
Take Risks
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BEST Communications Styles Workshop
BOLD (Driver / Action)
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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.
Use visual aids.
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Be precise; state the facts.
Organize your discussion in a logical order:
 Background
 Present situation
 Outcome
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Break down your recommendations.
Include options/alternatives w/ pros & cons.
Do not rush a process-oriented person.
Outline your proposal.
TECHNICAL (Analytical / Idea)
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Allow enough time for discussion.
Do not get impatient when he or she goes
off on tangents.
Try to relate the discussed topic to a
broader concept or idea
Stress uniqueness of idea or topic.
Emphasize future value or relate the
impact of the idea to the future.
If writing, try to stress key concepts that
underlie your recommendation at beginning.
Start with an overall statement and work
toward specifics.
SYMPATHETIC (Relator / People)
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Allow for small talk; do not start the
discussion right away.
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.
Use an informal writing style.
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BEST Communications Styles Workshop
Team dynamics, relationships
and results are determined
primarily by the personality
types/ communication styles of
team members.
We will Discuss:
 Importance of team’s composition
 How dynamics of a team when one comm. style is over-represented
 How tasks may dictate the team profile that will be most effective
 How individuals can make a greater contribution to the team
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BEST Communications Styles Workshop
Direct
Indirect
BOLD
EXPRESSIVE
Strengths:
Strengths:
+ Works well in changing environ.
+ Uses practical approaches
+ Finds creative, innovative solutions
+ Can change direction quickly
+ Will make quick bottom line decisions
+ Works well together
+ Works with enthusiasm
+ Considers others in solutions and plans
+ Can persuade others to their point of view
+ Will consider values
Weaknesses:
Weaknesses:
Well Rounded/Mixed
Strengths:
– May overlook important details
– Need others to implement decisions
– Won’t take into account impact on others
– Proposed solutions may be too risky
– May take too much time to reach a decision
– Won’t consider details
– May not consider important factors due to
emotions
– Won’t make unpopular decision
+ Outperforms other teams in
solving production problems
+ Outperforms other teams in
general tasks
+ Considers more solutions,
thus reaching a better decision
+ Considers both tasks & people
TECHNICAL
SYMPATHETIC
Weaknesses:
Strengths:
Strengths:
+ Works well from logic and facts
+ Will be objective
+ Will be just/fair
+ Will develop step-by-step plan
+ Will pay attention to detail
+ Will find standard or traditional solutions
+ Works steadily and realistically
+ Will be patient with routine
+ Will be good with preplanned assignments
+ Will be accommodating to feelings of others
Weaknesses:
Weaknesses:
– May have more team conflict
– May take longer to reach
decision
– May have comms. problems
– Bold & Expressive may ignore,
stifle or shut out Sympathetic &
Technical
– May consider people in solutions
– May be too analytically oriented
– Won’t look at the big picture
– May be too rigid and rule-oriented
Thinker
BEST Communications Styles Workshop
– Won’t consider new ways
– Will be slow to reach difficult decisions
– May need a lot of structure before beginning
– May reach decisions in favor of status-quo &
other’s feelings
Feeler
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Indirect
Direct
BOLD
EXPRESSIVE
 Manage a short-term project
Plan a social or company event
 Identify competitive strategies
Conduct employee motivation program
 Identify changes needed in an org.
Plan a presentation
 Plan crisis management
Plan sales approaches
 Find a creative solution to a problem
Make plans for training employees
TECHNICAL
SYMPATHETIC
Write routine procedures
Write reports
Construct a work schedule
Edit reports
Identify ways to stabilize the environment
Write procedures
Plan for counseling employees
Identify details in implementation plans
Write personnel policies
Review details in complex projects
Thinker
Feeler
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BEST Communications Styles Workshop
What will you do differently to communicate more effectively
with others?
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BEST Communications Styles Workshop
Preferences:
Limitations:
B old
Challenges
Freedom
Power
Quick Results
Authority
Action
Change
Learn to Listen
Attend to Details
Be Aware of Others
Follow
E xpressive
Popularity
Influence
Acceptance
To be around People
To Persuade
Manage Time
Be Objective
Set Goals
Attend to Details
Control Talking
S ympathetic
Adjustment Time
Stability
Appreciation
Schedule
Set Deadlines
Use Lead Time
Get Attention
Be Understood
T echnical
Organization
Rules
Standards
Explanations
Little Risk
Make Quicker Decisions
Use More Power
Take Quicker Action
Take Risks
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BEST Communications Styles Workshop
FACTORS:
BOLD
(Driver/Action)
EXPRESSIVE
(Expresser/Process)
SYMPATHETIC
(Relator/People)
TECHNICAL
(Analytical/Ideas)
They get excited.
They like positive
attention, to be helpful
& regarded warmly.
They seek a lot of data,
ask many questions,
behave methodically &
systematically.
What (the results
oriented question.)
Who (the personal
dominant question)
Why (the personal nongoal question.)
How (the technical
analytical question.)
Someone wasting their
time trying to decide
for them.
Boring explanations/
wasting time with too
many facts.
Rejection, treated
impersonally, uncaring
& unfeeling attitudes.
making an error, being
unprepared, spontaneity.
Taking charge taking
more control.
"Selling" their ideas or
argumentative.
Becoming silent,
withdraws/introspective
Seeking more data &
information.
Best way to
Deal With:
Let them be in charge.
Get excited w/them.
Show emotion.
Be supportive; show
you care.
Provide lots of data &
information.
Likes To Be
Measured By:
Results, Goal-oriented.
Applause, feedback,
recognition.
Friends, close
relationships.
Activity & busyness that
leads to results.
Must Be
Allowed To:
Get into a competitive
situation. Likes to win.
Get ahead
quickly. Likes
challenges.
Relax, feel, care, know
you care.
make decisions at own
pace, not cornered or
pressured.
Will Improve
With:
A position that
requires cooperation
with others.
Recognition & some
structure with which to
reach the goal.
A structure of goals &
methods for achieving
each goal.
Interpersonal and
communication skills.
Likes to Save:
Time. They like to be
efficient, get things
done now.
Effort. They rely
heavily on hunches,
intuition, feelings.
Relationships.
Friendship means a lot
to them.
Face. They hate to make
an error, be wrong or get
caught w/out enough info
Allow them freedom to
do things their way.
Inspire them to bigger
& better
accomplishments.
Care & provide detail,
specific plans&activities
to be accomplished.
Structure a framework or
"track" to follow.
How to
Recognize:
Tends to Ask:
What They
Dislike:
Reacts to
Pressure and
Tension By:
For Best
Results:
They like their own
way; decisive & strong
viewpoints.
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BEST Communications Styles Workshop