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Thursday, December 30, 2010

Guest Blogger: Communicating with Another Introvert, or I Wish You Would Tell Me What You Are Thinking!

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Written by Michael Segovia
CPP Lead MBTI® Certification Trainer

You would think that two people with the same preference would be able to communicate well all of the time. Of course, we know that in reality this is not the case.

Sometimes when I am trying to communicate with another Introvert, my own Introversion gets in the way. I have trouble expressing my point of view on the spot. As a result, the other Introvert in the conversation may assume I mean one thing when instead I mean another thing. Then the other Introvert starts pondering what all this might mean and then come to a completely incorrect conclusion. Whew! I get exhausted just thinking about it.

Anyway, I’ve learned to give these situations a little time, and they usually work themselves out as long as I eventually go to the other person to explain myself. I have also learned that if I work harder at flexing my type in the moment, I won’t get into these situations in the first place.

I value the Introverted part of who I am, but I realize that flexing to Extraversion from time to time is essential to healthy, effective communication.

So, I’m going to stop writing and go talk to the person that led me to write this post in the first place.

For more of Michael's blogs, visit www.mbtitalk.com to "Connect, Learn, and Talk MBTI® Type".




Wednesday, December 15, 2010

The Never Ending Topic - Does Type Change?

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Does type change? This is a question that always seems to come up – whether it’s during certification trainings, workshops, counseling sessions, or anytime someone is introduced to MBTI® type. I was one of those who wondered about this. How can you go through life with the same personality type even as you go through life-changing events?


The first time I took the MBTI® assessment (as I shared in my first blog entry) was in college. When I took it again a few years later, I had just begun working at CPP. I was so sure that my type had changed. I searched through my “college stack of papers” and lo and behold, I was still an ENFJ. I know I changed quite a bit from college to the person I am now, so I was surprised to say the least. After I became certified, I learned that type doesn’t actually change. Circumstances can change, and you learn to better flex your type in situations where you need to. This is actually a challenging topic to handle, and CPP author, Donna Dunning, does a fantastic job with sharing insights as to why type doesn’t change in her blog.