What your words, pace, and level of detail reveal about you.

What does the way you communicate reveal about you?

The amount of detail you provide, how directly you make a request, the speed at which you move through a conversation, and even the questions you ask all give other people information about how you naturally behave.

DISC is a behavioral assessment built around four primary Styles—Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Compliance—and I use it to help salespeople recognize and adjust their communication preferences.

Every DISC Style has its own methods and preferences for communicating. You can begin to identify someone’s Style by noticing HOW they communicate.

Ask someone, “Tell me more about that,” or “Describe that to me.”

Then listen carefully. They will usually respond in their DISC Style.

Dominance and Influence are direct in their communication, and the content tends to focus on big-picture information. There are usually fewer details, and the emphasis is on outcomes, results, and the actions that will create them.

Dominance communication will often be efficient, using the fewest words necessary. Influence communication may be energetic, enthusiastic, and even hyperbolic.

Steadiness and Compliance are indirect in their communication, and the content focuses more heavily on details. Neither Style is likely to shortcut the information.

For Steadiness, those details will often include information about other people. They may solicit the opinions of others and want to provide comfort and reassurance during the decision-making process.

For Compliance, the details will focus on the task: the process, the steps required to execute it, and the order in which those steps should occur. They like details in writing, want the information to be accurate, and frequently ask questions that begin with “How?”

Noticing our own behavioral preferences can be challenging. It is like a fish noticing water. We are so accustomed to speaking in a particular way that we do not often pay attention to HOW we communicate or what our communication tends to include.

For salespeople:
Notice how you speak and share information.

How direct or indirect are you when you ask for or explain something? What information do you naturally include? How do you connect with others?

Then notice what happens when the customer communicates differently from you.

For sales managers:
Notice your own communication preferences and how they affect your ability to connect with others and direct their actions.

Do you provide enough information for the employee who needs detail? Are you direct enough for the employee who wants to know the desired result? Do you communicate in the way your sales associate needs—or simply in the way that feels most natural to you?

These same observations are helpful during interviews. The way a candidate communicates can give you useful clues about how they may approach the work, interact with customers, and respond to the needs of the team.

DISC should not make the hiring decision for you. It should help you ask better questions and make a more informed one.

Join Me for Two Free DISC Trainings

This month, we will begin with DISC for Sales Professionals: Understanding Yourself as part of my free Sales Skills Series.

Next month, we will build on that foundation with DISC for Customers: Identifying and Adapting.

Before you can adjust your communication to serve someone else, you must first understand your own behavioral preferences.

Register for the free Sales Skills Series:

https://www.onexone.com/skills

Now, go get inquisitive!