Communication Style Assessment
Color Characteristics
What do the colors mean?
Red
Red characteristics
Concrete, impulsive, risk-taker. Likes to get things done and is very action-oriented. Wants to know the short-term objectives of a project. Doesn’t like indecision and vagueness in others. Take-charge type, self-assured. Quick to act, spontaneous, likes to be in control, doesn’t like advice, and is uninterested in personal feelings.
How to communicate with Red
Be supportive of their goals and objectives; be businesslike. Avoid trying to get personal. If you disagree, argue the facts, not feelings. Be short and to the point. To influence the decisions Reds make, emphasize the practical. Give facts and documentation where possible. Be precise, efficient, and time-disciplined.
Use Reds for
Implementing a plan, getting work done quickly, quick decision-making, finding simple practical solutions to a problem, and determining realistic parameters of a problem.
Yellow
Yellow characteristics
Empathetic, personal, intuitive. Emphasis on human relationships and feelings when communicating. Likes to be involved in the decision-making process. Enjoys friendly, informal relationships with everyone. Doesn’t like rigid, bureaucratic, unfeeling management. Full of ideas, dislikes telling people unpleasant things, and seeks harmony.
How to communicate with Yellow
Be supportive of their opinions, ideas, and dreams. Don’t hurry the discussion. Emphasize feelings. Try to avoid arguments and look for alternative solutions you can both agree on. Be friendly and personable, but don’t let them stray from the subject.
Use Yellows for
Assessing the emotional tone of a situation, getting others involved, generating alternative possibilities and ideas, making people feel at ease, and stimulating enthusiasm and support.
Blue
Blue characteristics
Precise, analytical, impersonal. Likes consistency and logic. Prefers clear procedures, rules, and regulations. Wants guidelines and structure. Needs to know deadlines. Likes objective, task-oriented work. Not concerned about personal feelings of others. Principled, cautious, prefers working alone, likes problem-solving, and is unemotional.
How to communicate with Blue
Be supportive of Blue’s feelings and idealism. Try to show that you are interested in them as a person. Make sure to find out what they really want. Be informal and casual. Allow Blue a great deal of personal freedom, and avoid dictating to them.
Use Blue for
Interpreting large amounts of data, designing complex projects or experiments, setting priorities, impartial decision-making, and detailed projects.
Green
Green characteristics
Introspective, creative, conceptual. Makes associations and has insights. Needs personal freedom and enjoys expressing ideas. Asks questions for understanding. Responds poorly to authoritative management. Can take small pieces of information and form a whole. Bored by routine work. Good listener, needs to be unique, and is often unrealistic.
How to communicate with Green
Be supportive of Green’s organized, thoughtful approach. Be systematic, exact, organized, and prepared. Give Green time to make a decision—don’t push for quick action. Provide solid, tangible evidence to support your ideas. Stress principles, logic, theoretical concepts, and proven ideas.
Use Green for
Creative thinking, projects involving inductive reasoning, long-range planning, generating alternatives, and work requiring independence.