DISC- Communication Styles

Communication Styles

4 communication styles and how to navigate them in the workplace

​- Nat Turner

" Good communication is the bridge between confusion and clarity."

Activity #1

Shining Work Moments

Tell us your name and share one shining moment from your career. Make sure that as a participant, you listen carefully to find common themes.  

Once everyone has shared their shining moments, we will share our reactions to the others’ stories and discuss common.

DISC Personality Types

​Dominant

Inspiring

​Cautious

Supportive

​People-Oriented

Task-Oriented

Even- Keel

Excitable

D= Dominant

​Dominant

The dominant communicator is:

• ​Decisive

• Efficient

• Intense

• Results-Oriented

• Competitive

• Risk-tolerant​

​I= Inspiring

The inspiring communicator is:

• Outgoing

• Enthusiastic

• Persuasive

• Relationship-Oriented

• Lively

• Optimistic​

Inspiring

​C= Cautious

The cautious communicator is:

• ​Systematic

• Logical

• Reserved

• Process-Oriented

• Cautious

• Risk-averse​

​Cautious

​S= Supportive

The supportive communicator is:

• ​Cooperative

• Relaxed

• Patient

• Support-Oriented

• Friendl​y

• Thorough​

Supportive

DiSC Personality Types

​Dominant

Inspiring

​Cautious

Supportive

​People-Oriented

Task-Oriented

Even- Keel

Excitable

You can have a mix of all of these!

Poll

Which of the communications styles do you feel you best match?

• Dominant

• Inspiring

• Cautious

• Supportive

Start the Assessment

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Poll

Which of the communications styles did you get?

• Dominant

• Inspiring

• Cautious

• Supportive

Open Ended

Were you surprised by your results? Tell me why or why not?

Open Ended

Think about a coworker now... would you be able to guess their communication style knowing this now? Why or why not?

​Now what?

How should you approach someone with a different communication style?​

There are different ways for different styles...

​Dominant

Inspiring

​Cautious

Supportive

D= Dominant

​Dominant

You’ll do best if you…

• Get right down to business and stay on topic.

• Be prepared to field follow-up questions on the spot so you can answer with confidence.

• Expect them to be decisive and fairly blunt.

Avoid… 

• Taking their bluntness, follow-up questions, and/or impatience personally.

• Making promises you can’t deliver on.

• Expecting them to open up about their weekend plans.

  ​

​i= Inspiring

You’ll do best if you...

• Approach them in a casual manner and let your sense of humor show.

• Put details and facts in writing for them to refer back to after a verbal conversation.

• Expect them to be a little too optimistic about ideas, as well as their own abilities and the abilities of those around them.

Avoid… 

• Talking down to them or being curt.

• Trying to confine the conversation or stifle their freedom to express ideas and emotions.

• Expecting them to dive deep into the details with you.

Inspiring

​C= Cautious

​Try to… 

• Provide as many details as possible upfront, organized as systematically as you can.

• Give them clear expectations and space to work independently (they’re really good at it!).

• Expect them to double- and triple-check all the relevant info before making a decision.

Avoid…

• Framing feedback on their work as “criticism.”

• Responding to them emotionally – use words like “know” or “think” instead of “feel.”

• Expecting them to ease into a conversation with chit-chat.

​Cautious

​S= Supportive

You’ll do best if you…

• Practice active listening, and confirm that you’ve heard them by summarizing what they’ve just said to you.

• Approach them with a relaxed vibe and break the ice by acknowledging a recent contribution they’ve made.

• Expect them to ask for details.

Avoid…

• Rushing them into a decision.

• Assuming they support an idea 100% just because they don’t voice opposition.

• Expecting them to intuit priorities and deadlines – it’s helpful if you spell those out.

Supportive

Open Ended

Thinking back on that coworker, what is one way in which you can approach them?

Open Ended

What is something you can avoid doing with that coworker?

Activity #2

DISC Style Pantomime

Spin the wheel and act out one of the personality styles. Whoever guess the most of them correctly wins!

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Activity #3

Real-World Scenarios​

Decide the communication style of each person writing the following emails, and type up a response based on their style.​

Email #1

Dear ...,

​Happy Monday! I hope you had a wonderful weekend! Did you do anything fun with your family?

​

I was wondering if you had a chance look the reports over. Let me know and we can always look it over in on a call together!

​

​Kindly,

Sandra​

Open Ended

Respond to Sandra: Dear ...,

​Happy Monday! I hope you had a wonderful weekend! Did you do anything fun with your family?

​

I was wondering if you had a chance look the reports over. Let me know and we can always look it over in on a call together!

​

​Kindly,

Sandra​

Email #2

Hi,

I saw over the weekend that our rate of projects completed dropped from 25% to 20% last week. I also noticed that...

...

...​

What are your thoughts on the reason behind this?​

​

​Thanks,

Tom​

Open Ended

Respond to Tom:

Hi,

I saw over the weekend that our rate of projects completed dropped from 25% to 20% last week. I also noticed that...

...

...​

What are your thoughts on the reason behind this?​

​

Thanks,

Tom​

Email #3

Hey...,

​

I've been thinking about you all day. How is your leg feeling after that fall? I hope that you aren't in as much pain and getting lots of rest! When you have a minute today, ​let me know when you are free to meet and discuss xyz. If you aren't up for it though, let me know. It's not a big deal if we push it off one more day!

​

Kind regards,​

Tim​

​

Open Ended

Respond to Tim:

Hey...,

​

I've been thinking about you all day. How is your leg feeling after that fall? I hope that you aren't in as much pain and getting lots of rest! When you have a minute today, ​let me know when you are free to meet and discuss xyz. If you aren't up for it though, let me know. It's not a big deal if we push it off one more day!

​

Kind regards,​

Tim​

Tom

Email #4

Hello...,

​

We need to submit those reports by the end of the day today. Please take a look at those as soon as possible.​

​

Thanks,​

Trina

​

Open Ended

Respond to Trina: Hello...,

​

We need to submit those reports by the end of the day today. Please take a look at those as soon as possible.​

​

Thanks,​

Trina

Open Ended

Does anyone still have any questions?

Poll

How did this training go today?

• I didn't enjoy it/get much out of it.

• It was okay.

• I enjoyed it!

• I loved it and will share with others!

Open Ended

Can you please elaborate?

​Thanks for joining us today! We hope to see you again soon!

​Info from: https://www.atlassian.com/blog/teamwork/how-to-navigate-diverse-communication-styles-at-work