How to communicate with Dan

I went to a little seminar on Tuesday on "Dynamic Communication".  It turned out to be a little different than what I expected.  I had hoped to learn better ways to communicate effectively in general since I am not necessarily known to be the best communicator; and I definitely see the merits of fine-tuning such a skill.

 

It turns out that we primarily focused on an intricate system for profiling people's behaviors and personalities.  We started off by answering a series of questions.  The questions were somewhat vague and a little bit repetitive.  They would be things like, "Which of the following best describes you, and which of the following least describes you:  a) You prefer to lead the group  b) You prefer to work alone c) You value other peoples opinions on issues d) Your emotions affect your decisions, etc... "

 

When you are done you get a profile that ranks you in four categories by assigning you a number between 1 and 100 for each category.  It actually gives you two profiles.  One is your 'natural' profile and the other is your 'adapted' profile.  Apparently when you are around other people (like at work) you put on your adapted profile, but when you are home relaxed, you put on your natural profile.  The further apart these two profiles are, then more energy you expend while wearing your adapted profile.  Kind of like taking someone who naturally loves doing accounting work all day, and putting them into an HR job.  They would be a disaster and would probably quit or go postal.

 

Apparently a lot of big companies will use this system to determine what type of person they need to best fill a specific job opening.  They will have potential candidates take this brief quiz to help determine if they would be a good fit.  If you choose someone who has the opposite behavior/personality then both the employee and the employer will end up in a bad situation.  Apparently this happens often.

 

So anyway, what you are really dying to know is:  How can I best communicate with Dan?  Lucky for you, I now have a list of Do's and Don't when attempting to communicate with me.

 

When speaking to Dan DO the following:

• Keep at least 3 feet away from him.
• Listen to him.
• Give him time to be thorough, when appropriate.
• Respect his quiet demeanor.
• Provide details in writing.
• Make an organized presentation of your position, if you disagree.
• Use expert testimonials.
• Minimize risk by providing guarantees over a period of time.
• Use the proper buzz words that are appropriate to his expertise.
• Follow through, if you agree.
• Be prepared with facts and figures.
• Approach him in a straightforward, direct way; stick to business.

When speaking to Dan do NOT do the following:

• Use testimonies of unreliable resources; don't be haphazard.
• Threaten, cajole, wheedle, coax or whimper.
• Leave things to chance or luck.
• Pretend to be an expert if you are not.
• Make statements you can not prove.
• Be redundant.
• Dillydally or waste time.
• Be superficial.
• Use gimmicks or clever, quick manipulations.
• Make conflicting statements.
• Be disorganized or messy.

 

There you have it.  I spent 10 minutes answering a series of questions on their laptop and I now have instructions for how to communicate with myself.  I will not comment on whether or not I feel these lists are accurate.  Feel free to experiment.