Kinds of Listeners

Harvey A. Robbins, in How to Speak and Listen Effectively, suggests that listeners come in four behavioral styles:

To communicate effectively you must understand your own style and figure out which way the listener prefers to receive information. See the Behavioral Style Model on the next page.

Analyticals tend toward perfectionism and deal in logic and details. They tend to keep feelings to themselves. In talking with them, prepare your case in advance and be accurate and realistic. Provide tangible evidence to support your points.

Amiables put a high value on people and friendships. They go out of their way not to offend. They have their opinions, but are not inclined to tell you what's on their mind. Ask “how” questions to draw out their opinions.

Drivers can appear to be pushy at times, making demands on themselves and others. They tend to keep emotions under wraps and resent those who gossip and waste time in idle conversation. They are decisive, results oriented, and like to give guidance to those who need it and those who don't as well. Be brief, specific, and to the point when dealing with drivers.

Expressives are looking for a good time. They are enthusiastic, creative, and intuitive, but have little tolerance for those unlike themselves. Easily bored, they tend to go off on tangents. Stick with the big picture when relating to this type.

Also, each of us tunes into specific words and verbal patterns. According to Robbins, these usually fall into three categories:

Audio. If you have an audio pattern, you tune to and retain only the information that you hear.

Visual. If you have a visual pattern, you pick up on information that you see and read.

Kinesthetic. If you have a kinesthetic pattern, you learn best when you try things out first.