Adapting How You Communicate
How to read the room in a meeting
Spot someone’s communication style in the first minute and adapt before you commit to an approach.
How to do it
Watch the pace, whether they open on the task or the people, and the words they reach for. Those three tells place almost anyone before you have said much back.
Pace
Fast is a Driver or Expresser.
Focus
Task-first is a Driver or Analyst.
Words
Numbers is an Analyst, feelings is a Connector.
What it sounds like
Stakeholder
“I've reviewed the doc. I have three questions on your methodology.”
You
“You're focused on the how, so let me walk the assumptions step by step, starting with the inputs.”
Practise it
Chris Nolan, new stakeholder
“Before we go further, walk me through how you got these numbers. I want to see the working.”
Name their style, cite the tell, then answer the way that style needs.
A strong answer: “You're an Analyst, straight to the how. Let me take you through the model input by input, and flag where each assumption could move the answer.”
Free in your browser. Speak for 60 seconds and get feedback.
The short version
Pace, focus, words. You can read a style before they finish talking.
Practise it every day
This is one lesson from the Adapting How You Communicate course in the Insight7 app, with a roleplay to rehearse the real conversation.