Myers Briggs & Communication Strategies

My communication style:

ESFJ

It is interesting to observe how my communication style (my four letter code) influences all these different aspects of my life.  It helps me to understand exactly how I act around people, how I take in information, how I think, and how I react.  The following are just a few examples of how my communication style plays into the different areas of my life.

Choosing a major

My major is music, and I think this makes sense in the context of my communication style.  I plan to use my major to lead worship in a church, which my extroversion characteristic fits in well with.  The "J" aspect also plays  well into this because you need to be pretty well organized to work in a church music department--especially for a larger church.

Learning style

My communication style fits in really well with my learning style.  I am definitely a sensory learner--the more hands-on and visual the lesson being taught, the more likely I am to retain the information.  It also helps that I am an extremely organized, get-it-done person.

Playing

It was interesting to me that the test scored a high percentage of "J" for me--89%.  I know that I'm an organized person, but usually I go with the flow.  I like to hang out with friends, and usually I'll do that before I do homework.  I do plan out how much time I'll need for homework in my head so I know, but that doesn't take away from my social time.  Also, my extroversion comes into play well here.

Possible causes of stress

I find myself getting frustrated with people who make a decision purely based on intellect, and it seems heartless.  I am always worried about people's feelings or perceptions, and will often make a decision based on values or feelings.  I am confident I make good decisions that are well-thought-out, but I don't make a decision purely based on fact or intellect.

Dealing with conflict

I am a person who prefers to deal with conflict immediately after it occurs.  I don't like when people wait or think they need to walk away from the situation without solving the problem. My feelings are summed up with, "Don't let the sun go down on your anger."  If you don't deal with conflict right away, it's going to fester and the problem will only get worse and worse.

Communication strategies: Jordan Tucker, roommate

Based on my observations of my roommate, Jordan Tucker, I would guess his four letter code would be something similar to INTP.  He seems to be removed from social happenings most times, he likes to think big picture, he is definitely a logical analyzer, and he if not really an organizer but more of a processor.

You'll notice that we are complete opposites, which is very interesting for a roommate combination.  I think it kind of works well though as roommates, we are so different from each other but we appreciate the differences between us.  It's also nice because we are going in two totally different directions in life and it doesn't feel like I'm competing with my roommate (as I've felt in the past with other roommates, who quite possibly could've had similar codes to me).  When Jordan and I communicate, we have to factor into the conversation that he is an intellectual thinker and I am motivated by feeling or values.  Usually we come to an agreement about something, but we approach it from two totally different angles.  So I would say we have kind of already put this communication style difference to rest in adapting to each other.  We will definitely continue to work at being better communicators with each other, but I believe we've had a good start.