What's My Communication Style?

Objective - To identify preferred styles of verbal and non-verbal communication
Intended For - All organizational members
Time Required - 1-2 hours
Product Format - A fun, fast learning instrument that identifies preferences in verbal and non-verbal communication.
Participant booklet available in Spanish

(Check two recent usesof the What's My... tools on our Team Blog.)

Communication. It's more than how we speak. It's how we walk into a room, where we direct our gaze. What's My Communication Style? is ideal for any type of communication, management development, leadership, or team training.

What's My Communication Style? (WMCS) is based on the assumption that people have personality styles and that those styles drive behavior and communication. We define personality styles as: the way a person acts when he/she is able to do things his/her own way. Does this mean that people act the same way all the time? Certainly not. Even the most boisterous individual would not be loud and jovial at a funeral. But most people do have enough consistency in their behavior to allow themselves and others to predict their behavior. Everyone acts friendly sometimes, but when a person acts friendly more than the average person, others start to think about that person as being friendly. People then come to expect friendly behavior from that person all the time.

What's My Communication Style? focuses specifically on communication. It is a fun, non-threatening tool that highlights the strengths and weaknesses of different communication styles. Participants discover their communication style by choosing the communication behaviors that best describe them.

Development
The development of this tool began with the style literature. An extensive list of sources was created and a decision was made on which forms of communication would be included in the instrument. With these forms in mind, a list was generated of more than 100 communication behaviors. Each of these behaviors was then categorized by style.

Another literature review was undertaken so that the previously selected forms of communication could also be categorized. This resulted in four categories: verbal, paraverbal, body language, and personal space. The original list of behaviors was then placed in one of these four categories. At this point each behavior had been assigned to a particular style as well as a particular form of communication.

A test version of WMCS was developed, which included 24 items covering all four forms of communication. This version was given to a sample made up almost entirely of the individuals who had completed What's My Style?. An analysis of results indicated that 81% of the individuals showed the same pattern of styles in WMS and WMCS. The fact that 19% did not show the same pattern can be attributed to the differences between behavioral style and communication style. As stated earlier, communication style is a unique aspect of our overall style. We are not always aware of how we are communicating, particularly nonverbal communication. This can lead to differences in self-perception between the two instruments.

A thorough item analysis of WMCS revealed that ten items were not in sync with the other items within each style. These items were revised. The final version was sent for review to customers interested in communication style. Their comments and those of their participants were used to revise the instrument and Facilitator Guide.

Administering the Exercise
What's My Communication Style? was designed for easy administration. All of the information needed to score, interpret results, and make plans for capitalizing on one's style is contained in the booklet.

The instrument contains 24 statements. For each statement, participants choose the statement ending that most closely describes them. They then circle the letter (a, b, c, or d) that corresponds to that ending on the Response Form. It may be helpful to tell participants that more than one statement ending may describe them, but they are to choose the ending that most closely describes them.

What our customers say...

 "I presented What's My Communication Style? to a group of 50 professionals from different industries and they were captivated. This tool provides an excellent means of helping people better understand why they are perceived as they are and how they can become more flexible and successful in the workplace."

Janet Skotko
Speech/Language Pathologist
The Voice Institute