Are you a people person? If you’re not maybe you’d do well to consider your ‘people wiring’ design. What’s that, you ask. It’s simple. It’s how we all relate to people, learning and the world. And though we all learn and relate, we don’t all do it in the same way, and that’s where your wiring may have a tendency to overheat.
Left and Right Brain People
To keep it simple, left-brain folks are usually more analytical and detail oriented. Right brain dominant people are usually dreamers and see the big picture better. And sometimes these differences can cause friction. If you remember the movie and later the TV show, The Odd Couple, Oscar and Felix were the classic left and right-brain opposites.
Once you’re aware of the obvious differences between these two distinct personalities it’s easy to make conscious concessions that keep the relationship harmonious. The key, of course is awareness. If your detail-oriented partner takes issue with you leaving loose ends all over the place, make an effort to at least meet him halfway.
And if your big-picture partner is busy with plans for a better mousetrap, offer some encouragement. Both orientations are necessary for a successful culture. The dreamers come up with the big ideas and the detail folks, well, they take care of the details.
How Do You Learn? Communication Styles And NLP
People obviously make sense of the world through their senses. The majority of the population, about 55%, best absorbs knowledge visually. About 45% learns primarily by listening. A small portion trade off between visual and auditory and the remainder actually need to need to touch something to best understand. Of course, we all shift from one modality to another as needed by circumstances, but be sure that each of us has a preferred method of perception.
So what does this mean to you? Well, once you understand a person’s orientation to learning you can better relate to them by communicating their way. For example, visual people usually speak faster and sometimes become impatient with others who don’t ‘keep the pace’ in a conversation. Visual people also need to be shown before committing.
People who relate by listening speak more slowly, often pausing to choose just the right word. They are often able to relate to the past through music and songs that were popular at a particular time.
How can you tell a person’s primary method of relating to the world? There are lots of clues. Visual people often dress impeccably while others won’t be so fussy about their clothes. Both visual and auditory folks give out lots of clues in their speech. Auditory people might communicate understanding by saying, “I hear you,” or “sounds good to me.” A visual person might say, picture this, or. “I can just see it now,” or, “she was certainly shining that day.”
What Does This Mean To You?
Understanding the way others process information can put you on track to building more rapport with them and that just has to be a good thing. Whether it’s a personal relationship, a business associate or simply the desire to understand others, recognizing a person’s communication style can improve your relationships and that tends to make life more enjoyable.
