Empowering career search and enrichment

Written by Catherine Rains

For the next three weeks, we’re going to look at ways to bring our type language into the 21st century. Let’s start with the phrases “I am a Thinker”, or “He is Perceiver” to describe someone’s type preference. I have to admit I am guilty of using these phrases myself, particularly before I become a MBTI® Certification trainer, or even now when I’m talking very fast and just forget the new rules for talking type.

Sometimes it just seems natural to use these phrases to describe someone’s preference for a particular dichotomy; however it is now considered outdated. Try this instead – “I have a preference for Thinking”, or “He prefers Thinking”. Why are these phrases considered best practice when describing someone’s preference? When I describe myself as a Perceiver, it implies that this is all I am, putting me in a type box. With type, we always have a choice to flex to the other side, and have skills to use both sides of a preference pair. So I’m not JUST a Perceiver. I prefer Perceiving, and easily and effortlessly exhibit behaviors associated with this preference, but this is not all that I am. I often use behaviors associated with Judging when the situation calls for these skills, and am actually quite talented at doing so. So to describe myself as a Perceiver just isn’t accurate and it implies that this is the totality of who I am. Although hard to get used to at first, this newer phraseology better reflects the philosophy and intent behind using type to improve our everyday interactions.

Ever heard the phrases “I am an off the chart Extrovert” or “he is a huge Judger” to describe someone’s preference? Stay tuned for this topic next week as we continue our discussion around cleaning up type language.

Written by Catherine Rains

When I’m working with a new client, the first thing I usually try to guess is their preference for Thinking or Feeling. Why? Because it will dictate how our conversation will start. If my client prefers Thinking, they will want to get to business right away, with minimal personal chit chat, which is not true with my Feeling preference clients. Because knowing this preference is so important to me early in the conversation, I pay very close attention to their Thinking/Feeling behavioral cues, even more than with the other preferences. Here are some things that I look for. They:

• Might look more serious, business-like, appearing a bit indifferent
• Often will jump right into the purpose of the meeting without my prompting
• If I compliment them, they sometimes respond with a quick thank you with little personal narrative about what I complimented them about
• Could appear critical because of their focus on what is wrong and needs to be fixed
• Sometimes will argue or debate a point just for fun
• Might use dark humor, sharp wit or sarcasm
• Could question my competence to see if they deem me competent
• Often use the phrase “I think…”
• Usually get right to the point in an email with little personal “talk” (unless they know they are emailing a Feeling preference, and then will add a short personal line in the beginning after they are finished writing the email!)

So what cues work for you in guessing whether someone prefers Thinking?

*It is important to understand that you cannot assess a person's type based merely on type cues; having the person take an assessment and giving them a proper interpretation is always recommended. The point of the blog is to try to understand how to pick up on certain type cues when in the absence of giving someone an assessment and self-verification, such as in a job interview.