Communication Styles in

Business
HARRI TUOMOLA
SALES AND NEGOTIATION
IBC-M MITROVICA
Content

1. Introduction
2. Layers of mental programming
3. Personality point-of-view (Thomas)
4. Questions, comments and happy thoughts
Premise
 One should have at least basic understanding of
other side’s expectations
 These expectations often depend on:
 Demographic variables (age, gender, national
and ethnic culture, profession, etc.)
 Psychographic variables
 Knowledge level of the audience
 Interest level of the audience
Implication

 Inany task, the better we fulfill other party’s

expectations, the more effective we are
perceived in that task
 In other words, we should understand other
party’s expectations to make our interaction as
effective as possible
 Communication
happens on listener’s
terms
Layers of Mental Programming
(Hofstede)

Individual: Personality
 inherited and learned

Collective: Culture
 learned

Universal: Human nature

 inherited
Thomas Analysis Background

 The most used organizational psychology analysis method

in the world
 Theoretical background presented in ”Emotions of Normal
People” by William Moulton Marston (1928)
 Connection to Hippocrates, Jung etc.
 Commercially packaged first in 1972
(www.thomasinternational.net)
 THOMAS CHARACTERS

Dominance Influence Steadiness Compliance

Thomas Variables

1. Dominance highest
 Competitive, direct, demanding, energetic

2. Influence highest
 Optimistic, participative, excited, outgoing

3. Steadiness highest
 Friendly, thoughtful, helpful, reliable

4. Compliance highest
 Exact, logical, controlled, hard working
Motivators and Personality
STRONGEST
MOTIVATORS FEARS
CHARACTERISTIC

Dominance Results
Challenges
Loss of control
Failure
Power Inefficiency

Influence Favorable atmosphere

Freedom
Negativity
Routines
Popularity Details

Steadiness Safety
Sincerity
Uncertainty
Lack of confidence
Honesty Change

Compliance Rules and standards

Clear processes
Chaos
Lack of completion
Applying own expertise Emotions
How to deal with high D:
 Get quickly to the point, time is money, always in a hurry
 Emphasize benefits, especially financial ones, and be sure you
can prove them
 D don’t fear confrontation, neither should you (but just to be
safe, let them win)
 Ask questions which make D figure out the point himself
 Compliment D’s ideas, not D himself
 Be well organized and efficient with the time
How to deal with high I:
 Likes new, unusual and exciting
 Usually not in a hurry, loves talking and
interaction
 Feelings often more important than facts =>
package your offering well
 Gets excited easily but doesn’t necessarily mean
much
 Leaves details to you
 References and recommendations important
How to deal with high S:
 Takes time to build trust – never try to proceed
too fast
 Don’t be aggressive as S easily locks up
 Emphasize reliability, good reputation, warranty
and support
 Extremely important to keep the promises
 Expects quiet personal attention and concentration
 Listening skills are the key
How to deal with high C:

 Be well prepared, because C already is

 C is very interested in details
 Graphs, stats, tables, demonstrations…
 Likes to have everything in writing
 C keeps his distance and expects you to do the same
 Suspicious of anything that is too good
 Discuss also the negatives to appear objective
THANK YOU FOR YOUR
ATTENTION!

QUESTIONS?
COMMENTS?
HAPPY THOUGHTS?