Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator

understand your audience and it will understand you

Dr. Matthias Senn

Presentation Skills, MBTI 2

Have you ever been annoyed by

colleagues like these?

• Extremely emotional
• Extremely hard working • Starts crying with the first
• Extremely fast in decisions harsh word used
• Never smiling, never drinking a beer • Never separates matter and
• Never showing any feelings emotions
• Never willing to change • Always thinks in concepts but
• Not even able to imagine no reference to real world
others feelings examples

• No staying power • Seems to day dream

• Never sets goals
• Always starts new things before
the old stuff is done
• Unpunctual
• Chaotic work place

© Matthias Senn, 2004, All Rights Reserved

 Presentation Skills, MBTI 3

Different people make different receivers

Agenda

„ technical communications model

„ different receivers i.e. types of human beings
„ what is MBTI about
„ The four dimensions
¾ Extravert vs. Introvert
¾ iNtuition vs. Sensing
¾ Think vs. Feel
¾ Perceive vs. Judge
„ Group the 24 types in 4 major types
„ Give them what they need
¾ N and S
¾ T and F
¾ P and J

© Matthias Senn, 2004, All Rights Reserved

Presentation Skills, MBTI 4

Communication is what
ends up at the receiver

Speaker Receiver

noisy
air

output filter input filter

communication path

under not under But predictable!

your control your control
© Matthias Senn, 2004, All Rights Reserved
 Presentation Skills, MBTI 5

Human receivers differ by age,

background, roles and personality types
Differentiation Criteria
„ Age (kinder garden kids,
Receiver teens, senior citizen)
„ Social background (working
class, engineers, diplomats)
research-
„ Ethnic background (US: able
Hispanics, Asian, WASPs)
„ Role & responsibilities (team
input filter leaders, upper management,
family fathers, …)
always
„ Personality type diverse!

© Matthias Senn, 2004, All Rights Reserved

Presentation Skills, MBTI 6

What is Meyers Briggs Type Indicator?

„ Well researched classification on personalities

„ Based on research of C.G. Jung
It is „ Well suited to understand yourself
„ Well suited to understand others
„ Introduced by Ms Meyers and Ms Briggs

„ Useful to judge in good versus bad

„ Carrier guide or HR tool
It is not
„ Helpful for job decisions
(e.g. should I become journalist or engineer)
„ 100% flawless

© Matthias Senn, 2004, All Rights Reserved

 Presentation Skills, MBTI 7

Recharging your batteries

Extravert Introvert

Source: KURIER, Graphic by Christa Breineder

© Matthias Senn, 2004, All Rights Reserved

Presentation Skills, MBTI 8

Recharging your batteries

Extravert Introvert

„ Sociable „ Private
„ Broad interests „ Depth and
profoundness
„ Energized by others „ Intrinsic energy
„ Active „ Reflective
„ Expressive „ Calm and quiet
„ Speaker „ Listener
„ Change the world „ Understand the world

© Matthias Senn, 2004, All Rights Reserved

 Presentation Skills, MBTI 9

Perceive your environment

iNtuition Sensing

Source: KURIER, Graphic by Christa Breineder

© Matthias Senn, 2004, All Rights Reserved

Presentation Skills, MBTI 10

Perceive your environment

iNtuition Sensing

„ Intuition „ Experience
„ Future „ Present
„ Possibilities „ Facts
„ Overview „ Details
„ Imagination „ Reality
„ 6th Sense „ 5 senses

© Matthias Senn, 2004, All Rights Reserved

 Presentation Skills, MBTI 11

Making decisions

Think Feel

Source: KURIER, Graphic by Christa Breineder

© Matthias Senn, 2004, All Rights Reserved

Presentation Skills, MBTI 12

Making decisions

Think Feel

„ Objective „ Subjective
„ Logic „ Feeling
„ Intellect „ Heart
„ Basic principles „ Social values
„ Factual dry „ Personal, emotional
„ Analysis „ Sympathy
„ Head „ Gut feeling

© Matthias Senn, 2004, All Rights Reserved

 Presentation Skills, MBTI 13

Preferred interaction mode

Judge Perceive

Source: KURIER, Graphic by Christa Breineder

© Matthias Senn, 2004, All Rights Reserved

Presentation Skills, MBTI 14

Preferred interaction mode

Judge Perceive

„ Goal oriented „ Process oriented

„ Well ordered, „ Flexible and
structured spontaneous
„ Planning „ Adjustment
„ Tidiness „ Creative Chaos
„ Makes decisions „ Defers decisions
„ Final „ Temporary

© Matthias Senn, 2004, All Rights Reserved

 Presentation Skills, MBTI 15

MBTI differentiates in 4 dimensions

„ Extravert versus Introvert

E vs. I
„ How do you recharge your batteries

„ iNtuition vs. Sensing

N vs. S
„ How do you perceive your environment

„ Think vs. Feel

T vs. F
„ On what do you base your decisions

J vs. P
„ Judge vs. Perceive
„ What is your preferred interaction mode

A personality type is identified by 4 characters: e.g. ENFP

Where each dimension has a continuous scale

© Matthias Senn, 2004, All Rights Reserved

Presentation Skills, MBTI 16

Exercise 1

„ Ask your neighbour to describe his living room

Exercise at home. Listen carefully!

„ Can you draw conclusions on his

Learning personality type?
„ If so, in which dimension?

© Matthias Senn, 2004, All Rights Reserved

 Presentation Skills, MBTI 17

Exercise 2

„ Ask your neighbour to his favorite leisure

Exercise activities . Listen carefully!

„ Can you draw conclusions on his

Learning personality type?
„ If so, in which dimension?

© Matthias Senn, 2004, All Rights Reserved

Presentation Skills, MBTI 18

Exercise 3

„ Find a question that will tell you about your

Exercise neighbours preferred interaction mode.
(Perceive vs. Judge)

© Matthias Senn, 2004, All Rights Reserved

 Presentation Skills, MBTI 19

Four temperaments dominate the

24 = 16 possible personality types*
Artisans 35 - 40%
„ Highly skilled in tactical variation
„ Concrete in communicating
„ Utilitarian in implementing goals
xSxP „ Famous: Elvis Presley, E. Taylor
Guardians 40 - 45%
Sensing ?
„ Highly skilled in logistics
„ Concrete in communicating
xSxJ
„ Cooperative in implementing goals
„ Famous: Colin Powell, G. Washington
? Rationals 5 - 7%
„ Highly skilled in strategic analysis
xNTx „ Abstract in communicating
„ Utilitarian in implementing goals
iNtuition ? „ Famous: Albert Einstein, Bill Gates
Idealists 8 -10%
xNFx „ Highly skilled in diplomatic integration
„ Abstract communicators
„ Cooperative in implementing goals
„ Famous: M. Grobatschov, M. Gandhi
Source: D.M. Keirsey, http://keirsey.com
© Matthias Senn, 2004, All Rights Reserved

Presentation Skills, MBTI 20

Give them what they need to understand

iNtuition Sensing

„ Talk about concepts „ Talk about specific

„ Give an outline observations
„ Structure your „ Avoid speculations
content as well as „ Give examples
„ Announce when you „ Details, details,
go into details details!!
(N-type will start to „ Watch out for typos
sleep)
„ Keep it short
„ Use colours and
make it nice (for NF)

Pay attention to your complementary personality type!

© Matthias Senn, 2004, All Rights Reserved
 Presentation Skills, MBTI 21

Give them what they need to understand

Think Feel

„ Base your reasoning „ Socialize

on logic „ Base your reasoning
„ Base your reasoning on values
on measurable as well as „ Appeal to humanity
observations
„ Appeal to their honor
„ Forget about the
lachrymal gland „ Show how you make
(Tränendrüse) the world a better
place
„ Appeal to
exchanging (if you
do this, you get …)

Pay attention to your complementary personality type!

© Matthias Senn, 2004, All Rights Reserved

Presentation Skills, MBTI 22

Give them what they need to understand

Judge Perceive

„ Have a clear „ Stay flexible

structure „ Leave time for
„ Explain your questions during
structure as well as your presentation
„ Do not get side „ Show that you are
tracked, stay with willing to adapt to
your structure your audiences
„ Stay in time needs

Pay attention to your complementary personality type!

© Matthias Senn, 2004, All Rights Reserved
 Presentation Skills, MBTI 23

Meet the different needs of your receivers

Summary

„ Your audience always consists of different personality types

„ The four dimensions of the Meyers Briggs Type Indicator are
¾ Extravert vs. Introvert
¾ iNtuition vs. Sensing
¾ Think vs. Feel
¾ Perceive vs. Judge
„ Understanding MBTI will improve your communication
„ Give them what they need
„ Pay attention to your complementary personality type!

© Matthias Senn, 2004, All Rights Reserved

Presentation Skills, MBTI 24

Questions

© Matthias Senn, 2004, All Rights Reserved