I Am SO EXCITED to Listen that I Can’t Stop Talking!

It’s not hard to picture a High I-Style person. They have boundless energy and enthusiasm, usually with lots of ideas and the persuasion to go with it. But listening well may not be their strong suit.

We’ve looked at how the D-Style tends to listen. This week we’ll review the I-Style’s listening tendencies.

My special thanks to Extended DISC for their Listening Webinar. They were shockingly accurate! So I thank them for sharing these important insights.

Remember – the High I-Style person tends to:

• Be fun-loving, a “party looking for a place to happen”
• Focus on people more than on tasks
• Have a “faster speed motor”
• Be more outgoing – an extrovert
• Be very persuasive
• Have a positive attitude – usually sees the jar half full
• Have lots of enthusiasm

It would logically follow, then, that the strengths of their listening style would include:

• Enthusiastic about what they are hearing
• Easily emotionally touched
• Empathetic
• Enjoys the interaction

In keeping with theses tendencies, items to improve an I-Style’s listening skills might include:

• Pay close attention to details and strive to accurately assess what is being said
• Be careful of so much enthusiasm that it is possible to miss the actual point of what the other person is saying
• Work at keeping the focus on the other person, concentrating on what they are saying
• Think of conversations like a tennis game and keep letting the other person hit the ball at times

An I-Style person can definitely add fun and liveliness to a conversation, but it is a critical skill to learn to be an enthusiastic listener as well.

If you would like to learn more about your own DISC Styles, just click here for more information on getting a DISC Assessment – an easy online process that will gain you lots of insight.

QUESTION: If you have some I-Style in you, do you find your enthusiasm makes it harder to “listen long”, but you are tempted to interrupt with your ideas or response? I’d love to hear your thoughts and observations. Please share in the comment section below.