How DISC Style Impacts Communication

The following is adapted from Solving the People Problem.

Author Simon Sinek once said, “Communication is not about speaking what we think. Communication is about ensuring others hear what we mean.”  

We become much more effective at sharing ideas when we move past just saying what we want to say and instead begin to focus on understanding what our audience hears. 

There’s so much room for misunderstanding between the words we say and how they’re heard, and that misunderstanding is often due to a fundamental difference in how we communicate. To ensure others hear what we mean, we need to understand how they communicate and work to match their style.

By understanding how DISC style (Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness) impacts communication, we can do just this and begin closing the gaps that lead to miscommunication.

What’s Your DISC Style?

If you already know your DISC style, skip this section. If not, here’s a quick way to estimate your style.

First, do you consider yourself more questioning and skeptical or more accepting and warm? If you consider yourself more questioning and skeptical, you will be either a D or C style.  If you consider yourself more accepting and warm, you will be either an I or S style.

Now, do you consider yourself more fast-paced and outspoken or more cautious and reflective? If you consider yourself more fast-paced and outspoken, you will be either a D or I style. If you consider yourself more cautious and reflective, you will be either a C or S style.

Combine the two answers, and you have your DISC style. (Note that you can also use this strategy to estimate other people’s DISC style.)

How C-Personalities Communicate

Ask a C to do some research and present their ideas on how to move a project forward, and you will likely receive a well-thought-out proposal with plenty of facts and data to back up their conclusions.

Yet, because they prefer to consider and analyze information before speaking up, C-personalities can struggle to communicate well with others in the moment. Although C’s can be very effective in giving feedback or presenting their ideas to the team, they are often reticent if not given sufficient time to gather their thoughts and prepare.

This reticence can sometimes look from the outside like disengagement. Those who see participation and contribution as markers of interest in the matter at hand may misread these cues and assume the worst. They might see C-personalities as self-isolating or disapproving when they are simply engaging and communicating in a different way.

How S-Personalities Communicate

When S-personalities communicate ideas, they often prioritize how their ideas impact others first. This can be a very positive quality in many situations, but when communication revolves around more analytical ideas—such as the potential financial return on a new project—this reluctance to disagree can lead to frustration on the part of those whose styles are more direct.

Because S-personalities tend to value making everybody comfortable, they may also hesitate to get to their point quickly or directly. They may look for subtler ways to discuss any topic they feel could lead to conflict or inflict some emotional harm.

For instance, when somebody is not fulfilling their potential in their position, S-style personalities can struggle to communicate the necessary feedback. Without awareness of self and others, they might worry more about hurting the person’s feelings instead of recognizing the value of providing meaningful direction. Even when they do give constructive criticism, they might communicate it in such a roundabout way that nobody’s feelings were hurt, but nobody really knows what the problem is either.

How I-Personalities Communicate

I’s often thrive on enthusiasm. They get fired up, and they want everyone else to be as excited as they are about whatever topic is being discussed. This can be really useful in communication. It makes people feel better and encourages them to focus on potential upsides, even in the face of dilemmas and downsides.

That excitement, though, can feel suffocating to some. I-personalities don’t like leaving empty space in a conversation. It may feel to people with other styles that there’s no room to think when an I-style person is around. Like S types, they can also shy away from the tough conversations that involve what they may see as “negative” interaction. If they can find a way to avoid being critical of ideas and of others, they typically will.

At the same time, I’s can struggle to maintain focus when that high level of enthusiasm wanes over time. They love new ideas, new conversation topics, and movement. When it comes to ongoing work and the slower and more mundane tasks, they can check out and lose interest.

How D-Personalities Communicate

D’s love to cut to the chase so they can get results. If I’s are energized by friendly chat, D’s are likely to squash it in the name of efficient communication. Although D’s are irreplaceable for their ability to keep us all on task and moving toward our goals, this sometimes singular focus can leave others feeling a D-personality doesn’t care what they think or feel.

All too often, a bit of friendly conversation such as, “How was your weekend?” can be met with a seemingly brusque, “Great, but how’s that report coming?”

Very often, D’s don’t mean to suggest that they are unfeeling or uncaring toward their colleagues. They simply communicate that caring in a different way. For them, meeting (and even better, exceeding) expectations is best for everyone, and they don’t want to be embroiled in what they see as the inefficiencies of social niceties.

Seeing the Gaps in Conversation

None of these communication styles are right or wrong. The goal is simply to see and overcome the difficulties inherent in successfully communicating across styles and even between styles. (Two C’s, for example, working together on a project may struggle to push a conversation toward decision, since they reinforce their own interest in detailed, meticulous work.) 

Once you become aware of your own style and the styles of others, you can begin to look for the gaps in conversation and fill them.

This can mean different things to people with different styles. Filling a conversation gap for an I may actually be about leaving space for others to speak. D’s may need to learn to exercise more patience and leave room for conversation even when it feels off topic. For a C or S, it can mean speaking up when they’d rather remain silent.

By understanding how DISC style impacts communication, you can adapt your communication style to the situation, allowing for more productive conversations, with less miscommunication.

For more advice on how DISC style impacts communication, you can find Solving the People Problem on Amazon.

Brett M. Cooper and Evans Kerrigan help professionals like you build work relationships that really work. Over the last twenty years, they’ve influenced thousands of people in government, non-profits, and corporate America to work together in more productive, more effective, and more human ways. Through Integris Performance Advisors—the firm they co-founded—Brett and Evans have helped clients increase employee engagement, improve efficiency, and generate hundreds of millions in financial benefit. Brett and Evans are frequent speakers on team dynamics, leadership, and operational excellence. To access more great content and resources, and to connect directly with Brett and Evans, visit SolvingThePeopleProblem.com.