It’s not hard to picture a High I-Style person. They have boundless energy and enthusiasm, usually with lots of ideas and persuasion to go with it. But listening well may not be their strong suit.
We’ve looked at how C-Style and S-Style folks tend to listen. In keeping with “working backwards” through the DISC Styles, 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 I-Style person is:
- Outgoing
- Enthusiastic
- Positive
- Persuasive
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 these 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
- Resist the urge to interrupt or “talk over” the other person; keep listening
- Work at keeping the focus on the other person, concentrating on what they are saying
- Think of conversations like a tennis game and let 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.
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.
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