Speaking Of the Cuff - Personality Profiling

Advance Project from Speciality Speech - Impromptu Speaking is by far the most difficult to prepare speech I have done so far. It involved the evaluator choosing at random 5 topics. After much thinking and selection, I settled with the following 5. These are topics which I have some knowledge about, in the event that my mind goes blank, I can still think of something intelligent to say about the topic.

- Being a toastmaster - How it has benefited me

- Adopt or Buy? The current stray dog situation in Singapore

- Personality Profiling – How to read a person like an open book

- Back to nature – Why I love hiking in the mountains

- The art of communication - useful tips for instant success

 

The difficult part is, these are unrelated topics and they requires a lot of brain power to memorize the speech, all 5 of them. This is precisely why this project is called impromptu. It was meant truly to be one - a researched topic but not a fully written speech.

At the demo meeting to a corporate group of people, this is probably not the best speech to prepare. Could have some simple and/or sales related type of speech. However, I decided to press ahead. It was fortunate that topic 3 was picked, the easily of the lot since it is by itself a very structured approach, plus the fact that I did this speech in P2. Since it is suppose to be impromptu, I wasn't planning to memorize all 5 topics (not possible!) but more of the points highlighted to guide me through.

After the delivery, some toastmasters found out this is my first advanced speech, and they were surprised that I would choose one of a most difficult project to kick off my advanced communicator journey :)

1.     Personality Profiling – How to read a person like an open book

There is a famous saying that goes: “The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood.” ― Ralph G. Nichols

Good Evening President and fellow toastmasters.

Today I would like to touch on a topic that is close to the hearts of each of us – To understand and be understood. In my profession as a human resource practitioner, I had the opportunity to be exposed to various personality tools that would help me to understand a person’s character and work style very quickly. Such tools are commonly used as a quick analytical method of deciphering the complex personality of a person. One such tool is the DISC profiling that is very easy to understand and useful to size up a person’s work style. 

The DISC personality profiling tool, advocated 4 typical patterns of human interaction – Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance, hence the acronym DISC. The first pattern – Dominance, demonstrates a personality that loves a challenge and is what we call a high D person. Such a person is a very bottom line driven person. He is very results oriented, and therefore he can come across as forceful and direct. How would we know if a person is high D, you might ask? Firm handshake and steady eye contact; fast speaker and does not quite care for details.  Such are the behaviors of a high D person. To communicate with such person, it is therefore important to get straight to the point and give him the bottom line. No beating around the bush if you wish to cling the deal. 

In contrast, the second behavioral pattern – Influence, is a more outgoing, persuasive, moderate temperament as compared to the high D pattern; what we call a high I personality. If I am a high I person, I would have a very friendly disposition, with warm handshake and striking up a conversation with small talks almost immediately upon meeting you.  They can sometimes become a little too intimate on a first-name basis at the first meeting. As they are usually crowd pleasers, they can quickly become the center of attention in a party. So if you want to do business with such a person, you gota first be a friend to him before you can talk business. 

The high ‘S’ person – the third profile – Steadiness, is our sentimentalist. A high S person is very reserved and controlled. Instead of hordes of acquaintance, such a person likes to build a close relationship with a relatively small group of intimate friends. A high S person gives people a warm feeling, a sense of security and will lend you his listening ears anytime. One interest behavior of a high ‘S’ person is the labeling of personal effects, and in office, their very own pens. High S people are sentimentalist; they take care of each and every one of their possessions and can be extremely protective of it.  So the next time you find a pen with a name written on it, please return it to the owner, for all you know, the owner may just have sleepless nights thinking of this lost pen of his.

The last personality – Compliance is a most studious of the lot. A high C person is a sucker for details, facts and guess what? Rules! A high C person is methodical, as an eye for details and is probably your most humble, loyal and hardworking employee in the company. Stable and order, rules and procedures, theories and facts are the guiding principles of a high C person. A very good example of a high C person is.. me! I live by demonstrated facts, proven theories and precise details, and at work, I need a To-Do list to start my day, without which I will feel directionless and be at a loss. I cannot do anything else unless I have this list on hand. 

Time permits – Give an example of the insurance agent trying to sell a policy to 4 different type of personality. Let me demonstrate -To a high D, a CEO – “Sir, I have compared all policies and done my calculation, this policy here is the most cost effective and the highest return. So you should just buy this.” To a high I, a teacher – “my friend, we have known each other for a while, trust me, I have done all the ground work for you and this is the policy to buy. Our friendship matters to me, and I don’t mind if I get less commission on this, it truly benefit you.” To a high S, a financial controller – “Sir, think of your family, your wife and your 2 young children. You need to provide for them and protect them as best as you can. This is it, this is the policy to buy. To the high C, the HR – “Look, let’s run through all the small print, then I will brief you on the government’s financial guidelines, and then you will clearly understand why this policy is the best.” Either way, so long as you understand your client, you can sell almost anything!

Ladies and gentlemen, tonight I hope I have given you a flavor of 4 major profiles of people and understand their style. To understand where they are coming from, we can then tailor our communication towards their style in order to be better understood by them. And that, it key to a successful communication. 

Thank You. TME.