Message style is the way you use and interpret literal vs subtle meaning and emotions in communication. Your message style at work is implicit. You are indirect when you express yourself, interpret others, and approach conflict. You often let feelings guide your communication, and are adept at understanding and expressing subtle meaning. Sensory style refers to the way you attend to and communicate through the physical, auditory, and vocal space shared with your counterpart. Your sensory style at work guards interpersonal space through occasional silence in conversation, using a calm voice, and maintaining reserved body posture. Time management style refers to the way you attend to and manage time, i.e. focusing more on clock time or allowing events to unfold naturally. Your time management style at work strictly follows clock time, dictating how you organize your day, structure tasks, and manage meetings. Relationship style refers to the way you adjust communication to your counterpart's status and relationship with you. Your relationship style at work is relational. You often adjust your message depending on your counterpart's feelings, status, or relationship to you. Message style Team Size = 3 Interpretation is a characteristic of your communication style at work. Interpretation represents your tendencies to focus on literal versus implicit meaning when receiving messages. Interpretation is a composite of your communication preferences for recognizing your counterpart's emotions and messages. Your Score is: 6.2 At work, you interpret communication very implicitly. You focus strongly on your counterpart's emotions and the subtle meaning underlying their words. Low Context Dependence High Context Dependence Interpretation 1. RECOGNIZE OTHERS' IMPLICIT MESSAGES 2. RECOGNIZE OTHERS' EMOTIONS KEY You Team Members Your Behaviors and Attitudes 2 1 1. RECOGNIZE OTHERS' IMPLICIT MESSAGES Your Score is: 5.7 Your responses indicate that at work, you are often attentive to your counterpart's implicit communication. You often interpret indirect messages that underlie your counterpart's words. You often look beyond words for meaning and seek implicit intent when interpreting a counterpart's message. Strengths and Challenges Your mostly implicit interpretation is effective when your counterpart is an indirect communicator. You are often able to pick up subtle messages being conveyed through nonverbal channels. When your counterpart uses direct forms of communication, it may be challenging to focus solely on the words so that you do not over interpret or misinterpret the message. Recommendations When you engage in implicit meaning interpretation, you may be like a communication detective. But nonverbal expression and meaning can vary greatly in different individuals, languages, and parts of the world. Consider testing your assumptions and checking your interpretations with direct active listening tools. 2. RECOGNIZE OTHERS' EMOTIONS Your Score is: 6.7 Your responses indicate that at work, you almost always notice your counterpart's implicit emotions. You almost always interpret subtle feelings underlying your counterpart's words, such as anxiety or liking. Strengths and Challenges Because you attend to your counterpart's underlying emotions, you are able to interpret subtle emotional content that accompanies indirect communicators' verbal messages. For example, you can use emotional cues to detect when someone says "yes" but means "maybe," or even "no." There is less risk of misinterpretation with direct communicators who are unlikely to adjust what they say based on their underlying mood state. With direct communicators, it will be challenging to focus on literal meaning so that you do not over interpret and assume emotional content that is not truly there. Recommendations To manage communication with direct communicators, focus on literal, task-related meaning while taking into account your counterpart's emotional expression. When a direct communicator is emotionally expressive, it is important to validate explicitly expressed emotions while making sure they do not hijack a task-focused conversation. When your counterpart's emotions are neutral, focus on literal meaning. Message style Team Size = 3 Expression is a characteristic of your message style at work. Expression represents your tendencies to focus on literal and direct versus implicit and subtle meaning when sending messages. Expression is a composite of your communication preferences for persuasion, verbal expression, and letting feelings guide your behavior. Your Score is: 2.7 At work, your communication expression is literal, characterized by a focus on words over emotions. You often emphasize direct verbal messages to convey your opinions and argue your position. Low Context Dependence High Context Dependence Expression 1. COMMUNICATE BASED ON FEELINGS 2. COMMUNICATE INDIRECTLY 2. PERSUADE GENTLY KEY You Team Members Your Behaviors and Attitudes 3 1 1. COMMUNICATE BASED ON FEELINGS Your Score is: 2.8 Your responses indicate that at work, you rarely communicate based on your feelings regarding a given situation, meaning you rarely look to your feelings to determine what to say and how to say it. Since your communication style rarely changes based on how you are feeling about a given situation, it is somewhat consistent across situations. Strengths and Challenges You will find you communicate more easily with people whose communication style is often consistent like your own. With such people you know what to expect. You may be frustrated with those who communicate through their emotions, as their mood (e.g. angry, timid, bold) affects what they say and how they say it. You may find their communication sometimes too strong and other times too ambiguous. Recommendations When working with someone who communicates through their emotions, consider using those emotions as information to broaden your perspective of and understanding for the task at hand. Avoid making negative attributions, such as labeling your counterpart erratic or temperamental. It is also important not to take counterparts' emotional communication personally. Someone who communicates frustration openly may or may not harbor frustration towards you personally. 2. COMMUNICATE INDIRECTLY Your Score is: 3.7 Your responses indicate that at work, your communication behavior is fairly direct. While you communicate your message through words, you also occasionally rely on your counterpart's ability to infer meaning and may at times use indirectness to avoid hurting someone's feelings. Strengths and Challenges Your ability to communicate with a moderate level of directness suggests you can communicate effectively with direct counterparts and may be able to navigate with those who are indirect as well. However, when working with very direct or very indirect communicators, you may need to use active listening to be sure your messages are received as intended. Recommendations Your moderate level of directness can be an asset in a diverse team setting. When a team member's communication directness dominates a discussion, you can assist by labeling the communication style to prevent negative assumptions about the team member's personality or behaviors. When a team member is silent, you may be able to interpret or ask probing questions to uncover information and opinions that will aid the team's decisionmaking process. 2. PERSUADE GENTLY Your Score is: 1.7 Your responses indicate that at work, your style of persuasion is very direct. You almost always assert your wishes and argue your position firmly. Strengths and Challenges Interdependent decision-making with similar communicators resembles a competitive debate. Communicators with a more subtle style of persuasion may find your style very forceful and react with a defensive posture. Recommendations When faced with diverse communication styles, you will need to look for subtle expressions of persuasion to insure a wellinformed and balanced exchange. When it comes to persuasion, the firmness of your position is not directly related to the quality and effectiveness of your argument. Oftentimes, people are more likely to be persuaded when they feel they have been heard than when they are bombarded with direct arguments. Message style Team Size = 3 Conflict Management is a characteristic of your communication style at work. Conflict Management represents your tendencies to confront versus avoid conflict and disagreement. Conflict Management is a composite of your communication preferences for avoiding conflict and for avoiding disagreement. Your Score is: 6.5 At work, your conflict management approach is very indirect. When there is conflict or disagreement, you strongly prefer is to avoid confrontation or unpleasant exchanges. Low Context Dependence High Context Dependence Conflict Management 1. AVOID CONFRONTING CONFLICT 2. AVOID EXPRESSING DISAGREEMENT KEY You Team Members Your Behaviors and Attitudes 1 1 1. AVOID CONFRONTING CONFLICT Your Score is: 6.3 Your responses indicate that at work, you avoid direct conflict whenever possible. When you disagree with someone, you may express your disagreement but you almost never confront and engage in argument. Strengths and Challenges You and other conflict avoiders can efficiently resolve disagreement without engaging in heated argument. However, when facing someone who confronts conflict, expressing your disagreement may not be enough to reach resolution. Although you may be comfortable agreeing to disagree, it will be challenging for you to work with people who engage in direct battle until a conflict is resolved. Recommendations It will serve you well to remember that some people like to confront conflict. When faced with someone who wants to do battle, it is important to attribute their behavior to communication style and not personality. You may be able to encourage constructive conflict resolution by taking a problem solving approach. 2. AVOID EXPRESSING DISAGREEMENT Your Score is: 6.7 Your responses indicate that at work, you avoid disagreement whenever possible. When you disagree with someone, you almost always keep your thoughts to yourself to avoid hurt feelings or unpleasant exchanges. Strengths and Challenges Avoiding disagreement may insure group harmony, but it may be at the expense of discovering well-informed, high quality decisions. In a group of people who do not openly express disagreement, it is also difficult to gauge support and commitment for a course of action. When working with people who openly express disagreement, it will be challenging for you to convey, rather than suppress, your uncertainties and critical ideas. Recommendations Because the most novel ideas and high quality decisions often come from teams working through divergent ideas and disagreement, it is essential for you to develop a means of expressing disagreement. Expressing disagreement does not necessarily lead to argument and unpleasant exchanges. By planning ahead, you can introduce a wellsupported position along with the caveat that you do not like to argue. You can look to group members with a similar communication style to help maintain a calm, task-focused discussion that does not get personal. Relationship style Team Size = 3 Network Reliance is a characteristic of your relationship style at work that refers to your tendencies to rely on personal network connections. Your Score is: 5.5 At work, your communication is characterized by high reliance on relational networks. You emphasize long-term relationships and networks as well as linking personal and professional connections. Low Context Dependence High Context Dependence Network Reliance 1. RELYS ON NETWORK 2. RELY ON LTR 3. COMMUNICATES ACROSS NETWORKS KEY You Team Members Your Behaviors and Attitudes 1 1 1. RELYS ON NETWORK Your Score is: 7.0 Your results indicate you are most comfortable doing business with people who are in your social network. Your level of comfort with new colleagues usually depends on your being part of a shared relationship network. Strengths and Challenges By predominantly doing business with people who are in a shared social network, your group bonds offer security and trust. At the same time, your pool of potential partners is more limited, and you may lose out on novel opportunities. Recommendations It will serve you well not to dismiss potential new relationships too quickly. When you cannot rely on shared networks, you can create lowcost opportunities for potential colleagues to demonstrate trustworthiness, for example asking for a favor. You can also ask for references from prior business colleagues to help get to know your counterpart better. 2. RELY ON LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS (LTR) Your Score is: 6.0 Your responses indicate that you are most comfortable working with people you have known for some time. You trust and rely almost exclusively on those with whom you have had a long-term relationship. Strengths and Challenges By mostly doing business based on long-term relationships, you limit uncertainty and risk. At the same time, your pool of potential partners is more limited and you may lose out on business opportunities. You may be challenged in parts of the world where people do not rely on long-term relationships to do business. Recommendations Remember that in some parts of the world, people form new relationships quickly and secure them with a contract. It will serve you well to explore new relationships that can be gradually tested with low-cost incremental commitments. By taking it slowly, you can build trusting new relationships with potential for a moderate or long-term life-span. 3. COMMUNICATES ACROSS NETWORKS Your Score is: 3.4 Your responses indicate that you occasionally have overlapping personal and work networks. You sometimes prefer to keep people in your work life separate from people in your personal life. Strengths and Challenges Because you occasionally have overlapping personal and professional networks, you probably work equally well in highly relational and highly task-focused environments. In other words, you are able to share personal anecdotes at work or to invite work colleagues to your home, but you are equally comfortable keeping those worlds separate. Recommendations Preferences for communication across professional and personal circles vary greatly across cultures and even across individuals within cultures. Your moderate levels of personal/professional overlap can serve as a model in diverse workplaces when social expectations are not shared. Remind others that just as some people feel a sense of wholeness when personal and work circles overlap, others may feel peace and security when they are separate. These are personal relationship and communication preferences that do not reflect interpersonal attraction or liking. Relationship style Team Size = 3 Relational Adjustment is a characteristic of your relationship style at work that captures the degree to which you adjust what you say and how you say it with different counterparts. Your Score is: 6.1 At work, your communication is characterized by very high relational adjustment. You strongly adjust what you say and how you say it depending on your counterpart's status, your counterpart's feelings, or your own social image. Low Context Dependence High Context Dependence Relational Adjustment 1. ADJUST FOR FEELINGS 2. ADJUST FOR STATUS 3. ADJUST COMMU. FOR OWN IMAGE KEY You Team Members Your Behaviors and Attitudes 1 1 1. ADJUST FOR FEELINGS Your Score is: 6.4 Your responses indicate that at work, you your message is highly influenced by your counterpart's feelings. You almost always change what you say or how you say it to avoid hurt feelings or to save face for your counterpart. Strengths and Challenges When you adjust your message for your counterpart's feelings, others are likely to perceive you as a modest and sensitive communicator. When adjusting message content and delivery, your challenge is to be sure no critical message content is lost. This is particularly problematic with negative messages. Softening a message to avoid hurt feelings should not come at the expense of understanding. Recommendations It is essential for you to be sure your message content is received and understood by those who are not well attuned to a sensitive communication style. When delivering a negative message, you may be able to limit face harm by delivering the message in private. You may also limit hurt feelings by prefacing the message with words of understanding and encouragement. You can protect your relationship by actively listening while your counterpart responds. 2. ADJUST FOR STATUS Your Score is: 7.0 Your responses indicate that at work, you consistently adjust your message and/or communication style based on your counterpart's status. Specifically, you almost always change the formality of your greetings depending on your counterpart's age, title, or position. Strengths and Challenges Attending to contextual cues about status is useful in hierarchical cultures and organizations where social norms dictate strict levels of respect and formality when communicating with superiors. Your predisposition to adjust communication for status could be problematic in egalitarian cultures, where a superior would expect a direct and complete message even from a subordinate. Likewise, superiors who are very direct in expression and interpretation might misunderstand a message that is deliberately indirect and gentle. Recommendations The politeness and respect you confer on superiors can lend a professionalism to your workplace communication with peers, subordinates, and partners as well. However, you should be sure to consider that respectful communication can sometimes impinge on your message clarity. 3. ADJUST COMMUNICATION FOR OWN IMAGE Your Score is: 5.0 Your responses indicate that at work, you often adjust your communication to preserve your image or save face. You are often annoyed and frustrated if you lose face in a situation.I Strengths and Challenges Often paying attention to the communication context and making adjustments to save face reflect strong social awareness. Your attention to others' interpretations and concern for your social image may help you to manage others' impressions. However, when you engage in such behavior, keep in mind that some others may perceive your communication finesse as manipulative or insincere. Recommendations Preserving face is an important skill in today's hi-tech and fast-paced environment that revolves around social connections. But protecting your image or status should not come at the cost of honesty or transparency. Remember to consider how protecting yourself could impact others; use perspective-taking to reflect on the consequences of your message before you send it. Relationship style Team Size = 3 Openness is a characteristic of your relationship style at work. Openness represents your tendencies to be more open or more reserved when communicating about yourself and about the truth. Your Score is: 2.5 At work, your communication is fairly open. You are often comfortable initiating conversation with strangers. For you, transparency means telling the truth in most contexts regardless of the relationship or others' feelings. Low Context Dependence High Context Dependence Openness 1. COMMUNICATE CAUTIOUSLY 2. CONVEY FACTS SENSITIVELY KEY You Team Members Your Behaviors and Attitudes 1 1 1. COMMUNICATE CAUTIOUSLY Your Score is: 2.0 Your responses indicate that at work, you are usually an open and outgoing communicator. You usually initiate conversation with strangers and are comfortable bringing up personal matters (e.g. whether you have children, your favorite movie) with people you do not know well. Strengths and Challenges Because you are usually an open and outgoing communicator, it is easy for you to get to know new people at work. In a group setting when newcomers arrive, more cautious communicators may appreciate your gregariousness as it gives them time to stand back and observe. Challenges are likely to arise when newcomers are cautious communicators who may find your outgoing approach overly direct and intrusive. Recommendations Recognize that some people approach communication with strangers cautiously and do not like to talk about personal matters with most people. This behavior is based in their relationship style and is not a reflection of how much they like or dislike you. When you face cautious communicators, it is very important for you to be aware of their comfort level and respect their pace. 2. CONVEY FACTS SENSITIVELY Your Score is: 3.0 Your responses indicate that at work, you are often more of a factual communicator than a sensitive communicator. You often convey facts directly and objectively even at the risk of hurting someone's feelings or creating tension within a team environment. Strengths and Challenges You work well with other factual communicators who rely on and trust objective data. You generally agree that facts cannot be massaged for the sake of someone's reputation or maintaining group harmony. However, you may be frustrated when working with sensitive communicators who place a higher value on the balanced functioning of the group. Recommendations When working with communicators who convey facts sensitively, consider that in many parts of the world people believe that circumstances dictate how ideas and practices should be applied. Sensitive communicators raised with this value system are motivated to protect relationships and place a high value on an emotionally healthy team environment. Time Management style Team Size = 3 Task Structure is a characteristic of your time management style at work that describes the degree to which you perform tasks simultaneously or sequentially. Your Score is: 2.0 At work, your time management style is very linear in task structure. You usually complete tasks one by one rather than several at a time. Low Context Dependence High Context Dependence Task Structure KEY You Team Members 2 1 Strengths and Challenges A sequential approach to time sends clear and unambiguous messages to your counterparts. Because you like to work on one thing at a time, your counterparts know when they have your attention. You will be comfortable working in a Western-style business climate (e.g. North America, Europe) that has a more sequential approach to time management and task completion. You will find it challenging when others around you are multitaskers and in parts of the world that run on event time (e.g. South Asia, Latin America, Africa). Recommendations Effectively working alongside multitaskers requires open communication about different time management styles and setting clear expectations. Remember that multitaskers are good at switching between tasks rapidly and frequently, but at any given moment the brain can focus on only one task. When working among multitaskers, it will serve you well to protect your focus time by scheduling specific days/times for uninterrupted work. Time Management style Team Size = 3 Scheduling is a characteristic of your time management style at work that describes the degree to which you are strict versus flexible with schedules and deadlines. Your Score is: 1.0 At work, your time management style strictly adheres to clock time. You stick to a schedule to manage your time and are not flexible with deadlines. Low Context Dependence High Context Dependence Scheduling 1. FLEXIBLE WITH SCHEDULES 2. FLEXIBLE WITH DEADLINES KEY You Team Members Your Behaviors and Attitudes 2 1 1. FLEXIBLE WITH SCHEDULES Your Score is: 1.0 You are not flexible with schedules at work. You almost always keep a carefully planned schedule on your calendar and refer to it regularly to help you organize your day and get things done. Strengths and Challenges Your scheduling behaviors will be similar to others in an organizational or national culture where time is a measurable resource. Relying on a schedule allows you to organize your day and set priorities in a way that is clear and reliable to you and others. When counterparts you rely on are flexible with schedules, you are likely to experience frustration and other negative emotions. Recommendations When working with people who do not use a calendar or keep it updated, you may need to select meeting locations and send meeting reminders to increase the likelihood that your counterparts will be present when you expect the meeting to start. It will serve you well to be proactive - discuss your differences openly, set clear and reasonable expectations, and avoid making negative attributions (e.g. disorganized, rude) if a counterpart has a different style than yours. 2. FLEXIBLE WITH DEADLINES Your Score is: 1.0 Your responses indicate that you are almost never flexible with deadlines at work. You almost always pay strict attention to deadlines and take satisfaction in meeting them. Strengths and Challenges Your time management behaviors around deadlines will be similar to others in an organizational or national culture where time is a measurable resource. In such cultures, meeting deadlines is often associated with being organized, efficient, and responsible. Failing to meet a deadline may be considered rude and irresponsible, because it affects your coworkers' plans and schedules. When counterparts you rely on are flexible with deadlines, you are likely to experience frustration when managing work flow. Recommendations When working with people who do not pay strict attention to deadlines, you should openly discuss your different deadline management preferences. It will serve you well to create timelines that allow flexibility and also independent work flows so that you aren't waiting for a more event-time oriented counterpart. Time Management style Team Size = 3 Sharing Time is a characteristic of your time management style at work that describes the degree to which you consider interruptions disruptive versus expected as you move throughout your day. Your Score is: 1.3 At work, your time management style strictly adheres to clock time and shows strong respect for your counterpart's schedule. You almost never allow interruptions during a meeting, such as taking a phone call or pausing to chat with someone who pops their head into your office. Low Context Dependence High Context Dependence Sharing Time KEY You Team Members 1 1 Strengths and Challenges Your attitudes towards sharing time will be similar to others in an organizational or national culture where time is a measurable resource, promptness is valued, and scheduled meeting times are protected from interruptions. You will find it challenging to work with people who have a more fluid view of time. When time is a fluid, shared resource, people do not consider lateness or interruptions rude. Remember that attitudes towards time come from a cultural belief system and are not a reflection of someone's organizational skills or respect. Recommendations It is important to remember that attitudes towards time are formed and reinforced through our childhood socialization. Like many aspects of culture, they are firmly ingrained and difficult to change. Some might argue it is unreasonable to ask someone to change such a broad cultural attitude as our understanding of time. It will serve you well to remember that attitudes towards time come from a cultural belief system and are not a reflection of someone's organizational skills or respect. You can manage diverse attitudes towards sharing time by noticing differences and setting clear expectations about time management for your interpersonal, team, and broader workplace relationships. Sensory style Team Size = 3 Body language is a characteristic of your sensory style at work that refers to your attitudes towards using body language to engage with your counterpart. Your Score is: 3.9 At work, your sensory style is characterized by a slightly reserved attitude towards body language. You consider it mildly impolite to look your counterpart directly in the eye, directly face your counterpart, or be physically close. Low Context Dependence High Context Dependence Body Language 1. CLOSENESS IS POLITE 2. EYE CONTACT IS POLITE 2. FACING OTHER IS POLITE KEY You Team Members Your Behaviors and Attitudes 2 1 1. CLOSENESS IS POLITE Your Score is: 1.0 Your responses indicate that at work, you almost never associate close personal distance with politeness. For you, close personal distance is rude and pushy. Strengths and Challenges Your adverse attitudes towards close personal distance mean you will be comfortable working in parts of the world where a larger personal distance is the norm (e.g. Japan). In such cultures, arms-length distance in conversation is respectful of your counterpart and their personal communication space. It will be challenging for you to work in parts of the world where people share communication space and close personal distance is considered acceptable and polite. Recommendations It is important to remember that attitudes towards physical closeness are formed in childhood and young adulthood. Like many aspects of culture, these attitudes are instinctual and automatic. It will serve you well to let counterparts know if their closeness makes you feel uncomfortable or threatened. But also remember that from your counterparts' perspective, physical closeness may be a natural form of conversational engagement that is not interpreted as rude or pushy. 2. EYE CONTACT IS POLITE Your Score is: 4.0 Your responses indicate that at work, you occasionally associate eye contact with politeness. Strengths and Challenges Your moderate attitudes towards eye contact suggest that you can be comfortable with counterparts who use direct eye contact as well as those who avoid eye contact. When working in a diverse group, you can help interpret others' communication when counterparts' attitudes towards eye gaze are in conflict. Your moderate attitudes may help you adjust easily to working in parts of the world where eye contact signals engagement (e.g. Latin American and Mediterranean regions) and also parts of the world where eye contact is considered rude (e.g. East Asia). Recommendations If you notice discomfort or awkwardness related to different attitudes towards eye contact in a diverse group, try leading a process intervention. Discussing different meanings, interpretations, and levels of comfort with direct eye contact is a good way to increase awareness of differences across individuals and cultures. Ask team members to imagine how it would feel to look directly in the eyes of a peer versus a superior at work; when sending a positive versus a critical message at work. 2. FACING OTHER IS POLITE Your Score is: 6.7 Your responses indicate that at work, you almost always associate facing your counterpart with politeness. Strengths and Challenges As someone who generally associates facing your counterpart with politeness, interest, and attention, you pay particular attention to body language in yourself and others. One's body position should be open and squared towards their counterpart when they are engaged in the conversation. When a counterpart's body is facing to the side or away, you may assume they are uninterested or their attention is elsewhere. The association between facing one's counterpart and politeness is shared in most Western and Far Eastern business contexts. You are likely to find it difficult to interpret flexible body posture norms that are typically found in highly expressive Latin America and Mediterranean cultures. Recommendations Be aware of different norms for facing others in conversation. When you are working with people accustomed to more relaxed body posture, it will serve you well to ask questions and use active listening to test your perceptions of conversational engagement and attention. Sensory style Team Size = 3 Dramatic Expression is a characteristic of your sensory style at work that describes the degree to which your vocal tone and physical gestures signal engagement with your counterpart. Your Score is: 2.1 At work, your conversational display style is very reserved. You do not speak loudly, use big hand gestures, or interrupt your counterpart. You are comfortable with silence in conversation. Low Context Dependence High Context Dependence Dramatic Expression 1. INTERRUPT 2. AVOID SILENCE 3. DRAMATIC EXPRESSION 4. LOUDNESS IS ENGAGING KEY You Team Members Your Behaviors and Attitudes 2 1 1. INTERRUPT Your Score is: 1.0 Your responses indicate that at work, you almost never interrupt counterparts when they are talking. You almost always listen rather than talk over others. Strengths and Challenges Avoiding interruption allows for active listening, attending to your counterpart's verbal and nonverbal expression, and asking clarifying questions. When working with people who interrupt as a form of communication engagement, it will be challenging to contribute to the discussion, make sure your contributions are heard, and avoid assuming others' interruptions are rude or aggressive. Recommendations People who interrupt as a form of communication engagement may not realize you require communication distance to be most effective in a conversation. To manage interruptions that feel intrusive and distracting, it will serve you well to put up your hand and calmly say, "please let me finish," as often as necessary. 2. AVOID SILENCE Your Score is: 1.7 Your responses indicate that you almost always embrace silence in communication at work. You are regularly quiet in group settings. Strengths and Challenges Being comfortable with silence has many strengths; you can take time to listen to your counterpart and compose your thoughts before speaking. In group settings, remaining silent can also create moments of power when the group eventually asks for your input. In a negotiation, people who avoid silence will fill your silent space with questions and information that can be a strategic advantage. Your challenge when working with people who avoid silence is making sure your silence is not misinterpreted as a lack of interest or attention. Recommendations Remember that people who are accustomed to filling silent space may interpret your silence as disinterest or even evasion. It will serve you well to label your silence as time to pause and reflect, in order to avoid misinterpretation. 3. DRAMATIC EXPRESSION Your Score is: 4.8 Your responses indicate that you often tell stories or anecdotes at work. When communicating, you often use gestures or colorful language to engage your listener. Strengths and Challenges By often engaging in dramatic communication at work, you share conversational space. You may find it challenging to work with those who focus on essential information and minimal expression. They may seem cold and distant to you. Recommendations Beware that people who do not share communication space may find your dramatic expression inefficient, or distracting. They may express frustration for stories and anecdotes that are not clearly related to the task at hand. Your dramatic gestures and verbal exaggeration may subconsciously intrude on their personal space. You could temper your dramatic expression to raise your counterpart's comfort level, and then examine other means of affiliation. 4. LOUDNESS IS ENGAGING Your Score is: 1.0 You almost always find it rude or are annoyed when people talk loudly at work. For you, speaking loudly is certainly not a positive signal that the speaker is highly engaged in the conversation. Strengths and Challenges Because you often find others' loudness rude and annoying, you are probably a quiet talker. Quiet talkers are respected for their calm reserve. When working with people who engage through loudness, you face three challenges: 1) their loudness is overbearing and invasive, 2) they do not hear you, 3) they attribute your quiet style to a lack of interest or involvement. Recommendations Remember that attitudes towards loudness are formed through early socialization. Like many aspects of culture, they are firmly ingrained. Let counterparts know if their loudness makes you feel uncomfortable or threatened. Try to attribute your counterpart's behavior to a natural communication style rather than a rude or dominating personality. Sensory style Team Size = 3 Physical contact is a characteristic of your sensory style at work that describes the degree to which sharing space signals engagement with your counterpart. Your Score is: 1.0 At work, you sensory style is characterized by very low physical contact. You strongly avoid touching and prefer to keep physical distance or a barrier between you and your counterpart to respect their personal space. Low Context Dependence High Context Dependence Physical Contact 1. TOUCH COUNTERPART 2. STAND NEAR COUNTERPART KEY You Team Members Your Behaviors and Attitudes 2 1 1. TOUCH COUNTERPART Your Score is: 1.0 Your responses indicate that you almost never touch your counterpart in workplace communication. You almost never hug or kiss when greeting someone or concluding a conversation. Strengths and Challenges Maintaining arms-length distance in conversation and avoiding kissing/hugging hello or goodbye are reserved communication behaviors that respect personal communication space for you and for your counterpart. Your behaviors are safely neutral, as social touching can feel intrusive and unpleasant for many people. However, when you work in parts of the world where conversational engagement is physical, your behaviors will seem very standoffish and cold. Recommendations Remember that people who are accustomed to touch as a form of conversational engagement could misinterpret your more reserved interpersonal style as a lack of engagement or liking. At the same time, if you feel uncomfortable with your counterpart's social touching, it will serve you well to let them know verbally. You can also subtly create distance by manipulating the physical context (e.g. where you are standing, objects between you and your counterpart, etc.). 2. STAND NEAR COUNTERPART Your Score is: 1.0 Your responses indicate that you almost never stand close enough to touch your counterpart in conversation at work. You are most often comfortable when there is a desk or barrier between you and your counterpart. Strengths and Challenges By maintaining personal distance when standing in conversation and seated at meetings, you show respect for your counterpart's personal communication space. Your preferred personal distance will not make others feel crowded or uncomfortable. However, when you work in parts of the world where people share communication space, your personal distance may get in the way of forming close business relationships. Recommendations Remember that people who stand close as a form of communication engagement may find your personal space norms too formal or distant. At the same time, if you feel uncomfortable with a counterpart's close personal distance, you should respectfully let them know, for example saying "I need a little more personal space please," or by subtly backing up a few paces while maintaining verbal engagement Message style is the way you use and interpret literal vs subtle meaning and emotions in communication. Your message style at work is implicit. You are indirect when you express yourself, interpret others, and approach conflict. You often let feelings guide your communication, and are adept at understanding and expressing subtle meaning. Sensory style refers to the way you attend to and communicate through the physical, auditory, and vocal space shared with your counterpart. Your sensory style at work guards interpersonal space through occasional silence in conversation, using a calm voice, and maintaining reserved body posture. Time management style refers to the way you attend to and manage time, i.e. focusing more on clock time or allowing events to unfold naturally. Your time management style at work strictly follows clock time, dictating how you organize your day, structure tasks, and manage meetings. Relationship style refers to the way you adjust communication to your counterpart's status and relationship with you. Your relationship style at work is relational. You often adjust your message depending on your counterpart's feelings, status, or relationship to you. Message style Team Size = 3 Interpretation is a characteristic of your communication style at work. Interpretation represents your tendencies to focus on literal versus implicit meaning when receiving messages. Interpretation is a composite of your communication preferences for recognizing your counterpart's emotions and messages. Your Score is: 6.2 At work, you interpret communication very implicitly. You focus strongly on your counterpart's emotions and the subtle meaning underlying their words. Low Context Dependence High Context Dependence Interpretation 1. RECOGNIZE OTHERS' IMPLICIT MESSAGES 2. RECOGNIZE OTHERS' EMOTIONS KEY You Team Members Your Behaviors and Attitudes 2 1 1. RECOGNIZE OTHERS' IMPLICIT MESSAGES Your Score is: 5.7 Your responses indicate that at work, you are often attentive to your counterpart's implicit communication. You often interpret indirect messages that underlie your counterpart's words. You often look beyond words for meaning and seek implicit intent when interpreting a counterpart's message. Strengths and Challenges Your mostly implicit interpretation is effective when your counterpart is an indirect communicator. You are often able to pick up subtle messages being conveyed through nonverbal channels. When your counterpart uses direct forms of communication, it may be challenging to focus solely on the words so that you do not over interpret or misinterpret the message. Recommendations When you engage in implicit meaning interpretation, you may be like a communication detective. But nonverbal expression and meaning can vary greatly in different individuals, languages, and parts of the world. Consider testing your assumptions and checking your interpretations with direct active listening tools. 2. RECOGNIZE OTHERS' EMOTIONS Your Score is: 6.7 Your responses indicate that at work, you almost always notice your counterpart's implicit emotions. You almost always interpret subtle feelings underlying your counterpart's words, such as anxiety or liking. Strengths and Challenges Because you attend to your counterpart's underlying emotions, you are able to interpret subtle emotional content that accompanies indirect communicators' verbal messages. For example, you can use emotional cues to detect when someone says "yes" but means "maybe," or even "no." There is less risk of misinterpretation with direct communicators who are unlikely to adjust what they say based on their underlying mood state. With direct communicators, it will be challenging to focus on literal meaning so that you do not over interpret and assume emotional content that is not truly there. Recommendations To manage communication with direct communicators, focus on literal, task-related meaning while taking into account your counterpart's emotional expression. When a direct communicator is emotionally expressive, it is important to validate explicitly expressed emotions while making sure they do not hijack a task-focused conversation. When your counterpart's emotions are neutral, focus on literal meaning. Message style Team Size = 3 Expression is a characteristic of your message style at work. Expression represents your tendencies to focus on literal and direct versus implicit and subtle meaning when sending messages. Expression is a composite of your communication preferences for persuasion, verbal expression, and letting feelings guide your behavior. Your Score is: 2.7 At work, your communication expression is literal, characterized by a focus on words over emotions. You often emphasize direct verbal messages to convey your opinions and argue your position. Low Context Dependence High Context Dependence Expression 1. COMMUNICATE BASED ON FEELINGS 2. COMMUNICATE INDIRECTLY 2. PERSUADE GENTLY KEY You Team Members Your Behaviors and Attitudes 3 1 1. COMMUNICATE BASED ON FEELINGS Your Score is: 2.8 Your responses indicate that at work, you rarely communicate based on your feelings regarding a given situation, meaning you rarely look to your feelings to determine what to say and how to say it. Since your communication style rarely changes based on how you are feeling about a given situation, it is somewhat consistent across situations. Strengths and Challenges You will find you communicate more easily with people whose communication style is often consistent like your own. With such people you know what to expect. You may be frustrated with those who communicate through their emotions, as their mood (e.g. angry, timid, bold) affects what they say and how they say it. You may find their communication sometimes too strong and other times too ambiguous. Recommendations When working with someone who communicates through their emotions, consider using those emotions as information to broaden your perspective of and understanding for the task at hand. Avoid making negative attributions, such as labeling your counterpart erratic or temperamental. It is also important not to take counterparts' emotional communication personally. Someone who communicates frustration openly may or may not harbor frustration towards you personally. 2. COMMUNICATE INDIRECTLY Your Score is: 3.7 Your responses indicate that at work, your communication behavior is fairly direct. While you communicate your message through words, you also occasionally rely on your counterpart's ability to infer meaning and may at times use indirectness to avoid hurting someone's feelings. Strengths and Challenges Your ability to communicate with a moderate level of directness suggests you can communicate effectively with direct counterparts and may be able to navigate with those who are indirect as well. However, when working with very direct or very indirect communicators, you may need to use active listening to be sure your messages are received as intended. Recommendations Your moderate level of directness can be an asset in a diverse team setting. When a team member's communication directness dominates a discussion, you can assist by labeling the communication style to prevent negative assumptions about the team member's personality or behaviors. When a team member is silent, you may be able to interpret or ask probing questions to uncover information and opinions that will aid the team's decisionmaking process. 2. PERSUADE GENTLY Your Score is: 1.7 Your responses indicate that at work, your style of persuasion is very direct. You almost always assert your wishes and argue your position firmly. Strengths and Challenges Interdependent decision-making with similar communicators resembles a competitive debate. Communicators with a more subtle style of persuasion may find your style very forceful and react with a defensive posture. Recommendations When faced with diverse communication styles, you will need to look for subtle expressions of persuasion to insure a wellinformed and balanced exchange. When it comes to persuasion, the firmness of your position is not directly related to the quality and effectiveness of your argument. Oftentimes, people are more likely to be persuaded when they feel they have been heard than when they are bombarded with direct arguments. Message style Team Size = 3 Conflict Management is a characteristic of your communication style at work. Conflict Management represents your tendencies to confront versus avoid conflict and disagreement. Conflict Management is a composite of your communication preferences for avoiding conflict and for avoiding disagreement. Your Score is: 6.5 At work, your conflict management approach is very indirect. When there is conflict or disagreement, you strongly prefer is to avoid confrontation or unpleasant exchanges. Low Context Dependence High Context Dependence Conflict Management 1. AVOID CONFRONTING CONFLICT 2. AVOID EXPRESSING DISAGREEMENT KEY You Team Members Your Behaviors and Attitudes 1 1 1. AVOID CONFRONTING CONFLICT Your Score is: 6.3 Your responses indicate that at work, you avoid direct conflict whenever possible. When you disagree with someone, you may express your disagreement but you almost never confront and engage in argument. Strengths and Challenges You and other conflict avoiders can efficiently resolve disagreement without engaging in heated argument. However, when facing someone who confronts conflict, expressing your disagreement may not be enough to reach resolution. Although you may be comfortable agreeing to disagree, it will be challenging for you to work with people who engage in direct battle until a conflict is resolved. Recommendations It will serve you well to remember that some people like to confront conflict. When faced with someone who wants to do battle, it is important to attribute their behavior to communication style and not personality. You may be able to encourage constructive conflict resolution by taking a problem solving approach. 2. AVOID EXPRESSING DISAGREEMENT Your Score is: 6.7 Your responses indicate that at work, you avoid disagreement whenever possible. When you disagree with someone, you almost always keep your thoughts to yourself to avoid hurt feelings or unpleasant exchanges. Strengths and Challenges Avoiding disagreement may insure group harmony, but it may be at the expense of discovering well-informed, high quality decisions. In a group of people who do not openly express disagreement, it is also difficult to gauge support and commitment for a course of action. When working with people who openly express disagreement, it will be challenging for you to convey, rather than suppress, your uncertainties and critical ideas. Recommendations Because the most novel ideas and high quality decisions often come from teams working through divergent ideas and disagreement, it is essential for you to develop a means of expressing disagreement. Expressing disagreement does not necessarily lead to argument and unpleasant exchanges. By planning ahead, you can introduce a wellsupported position along with the caveat that you do not like to argue. You can look to group members with a similar communication style to help maintain a calm, task-focused discussion that does not get personal. Relationship style Team Size = 3 Network Reliance is a characteristic of your relationship style at work that refers to your tendencies to rely on personal network connections. Your Score is: 5.5 At work, your communication is characterized by high reliance on relational networks. You emphasize long-term relationships and networks as well as linking personal and professional connections. Low Context Dependence High Context Dependence Network Reliance 1. RELYS ON NETWORK 2. RELY ON LTR 3. COMMUNICATES ACROSS NETWORKS KEY You Team Members Your Behaviors and Attitudes 1 1 1. RELYS ON NETWORK Your Score is: 7.0 Your results indicate you are most comfortable doing business with people who are in your social network. Your level of comfort with new colleagues usually depends on your being part of a shared relationship network. Strengths and Challenges By predominantly doing business with people who are in a shared social network, your group bonds offer security and trust. At the same time, your pool of potential partners is more limited, and you may lose out on novel opportunities. Recommendations It will serve you well not to dismiss potential new relationships too quickly. When you cannot rely on shared networks, you can create lowcost opportunities for potential colleagues to demonstrate trustworthiness, for example asking for a favor. You can also ask for references from prior business colleagues to help get to know your counterpart better. 2. RELY ON LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS (LTR) Your Score is: 6.0 Your responses indicate that you are most comfortable working with people you have known for some time. You trust and rely almost exclusively on those with whom you have had a long-term relationship. Strengths and Challenges By mostly doing business based on long-term relationships, you limit uncertainty and risk. At the same time, your pool of potential partners is more limited and you may lose out on business opportunities. You may be challenged in parts of the world where people do not rely on long-term relationships to do business. Recommendations Remember that in some parts of the world, people form new relationships quickly and secure them with a contract. It will serve you well to explore new relationships that can be gradually tested with low-cost incremental commitments. By taking it slowly, you can build trusting new relationships with potential for a moderate or long-term life-span. 3. COMMUNICATES ACROSS NETWORKS Your Score is: 3.4 Your responses indicate that you occasionally have overlapping personal and work networks. You sometimes prefer to keep people in your work life separate from people in your personal life. Strengths and Challenges Because you occasionally have overlapping personal and professional networks, you probably work equally well in highly relational and highly task-focused environments. In other words, you are able to share personal anecdotes at work or to invite work colleagues to your home, but you are equally comfortable keeping those worlds separate. Recommendations Preferences for communication across professional and personal circles vary greatly across cultures and even across individuals within cultures. Your moderate levels of personal/professional overlap can serve as a model in diverse workplaces when social expectations are not shared. Remind others that just as some people feel a sense of wholeness when personal and work circles overlap, others may feel peace and security when they are separate. These are personal relationship and communication preferences that do not reflect interpersonal attraction or liking. Relationship style Team Size = 3 Relational Adjustment is a characteristic of your relationship style at work that captures the degree to which you adjust what you say and how you say it with different counterparts. Your Score is: 6.1 At work, your communication is characterized by very high relational adjustment. You strongly adjust what you say and how you say it depending on your counterpart's status, your counterpart's feelings, or your own social image. Low Context Dependence High Context Dependence Relational Adjustment 1. ADJUST FOR FEELINGS 2. ADJUST FOR STATUS 3. ADJUST COMMU. FOR OWN IMAGE KEY You Team Members Your Behaviors and Attitudes 1 1 1. ADJUST FOR FEELINGS Your Score is: 6.4 Your responses indicate that at work, you your message is highly influenced by your counterpart's feelings. You almost always change what you say or how you say it to avoid hurt feelings or to save face for your counterpart. Strengths and Challenges When you adjust your message for your counterpart's feelings, others are likely to perceive you as a modest and sensitive communicator. When adjusting message content and delivery, your challenge is to be sure no critical message content is lost. This is particularly problematic with negative messages. Softening a message to avoid hurt feelings should not come at the expense of understanding. Recommendations It is essential for you to be sure your message content is received and understood by those who are not well attuned to a sensitive communication style. When delivering a negative message, you may be able to limit face harm by delivering the message in private. You may also limit hurt feelings by prefacing the message with words of understanding and encouragement. You can protect your relationship by actively listening while your counterpart responds. 2. ADJUST FOR STATUS Your Score is: 7.0 Your responses indicate that at work, you consistently adjust your message and/or communication style based on your counterpart's status. Specifically, you almost always change the formality of your greetings depending on your counterpart's age, title, or position. Strengths and Challenges Attending to contextual cues about status is useful in hierarchical cultures and organizations where social norms dictate strict levels of respect and formality when communicating with superiors. Your predisposition to adjust communication for status could be problematic in egalitarian cultures, where a superior would expect a direct and complete message even from a subordinate. Likewise, superiors who are very direct in expression and interpretation might misunderstand a message that is deliberately indirect and gentle. Recommendations The politeness and respect you confer on superiors can lend a professionalism to your workplace communication with peers, subordinates, and partners as well. However, you should be sure to consider that respectful communication can sometimes impinge on your message clarity. 3. ADJUST COMMUNICATION FOR OWN IMAGE Your Score is: 5.0 Your responses indicate that at work, you often adjust your communication to preserve your image or save face. You are often annoyed and frustrated if you lose face in a situation.I Strengths and Challenges Often paying attention to the communication context and making adjustments to save face reflect strong social awareness. Your attention to others' interpretations and concern for your social image may help you to manage others' impressions. However, when you engage in such behavior, keep in mind that some others may perceive your communication finesse as manipulative or insincere. Recommendations Preserving face is an important skill in today's hi-tech and fast-paced environment that revolves around social connections. But protecting your image or status should not come at the cost of honesty or transparency. Remember to consider how protecting yourself could impact others; use perspective-taking to reflect on the consequences of your message before you send it. Relationship style Team Size = 3 Openness is a characteristic of your relationship style at work. Openness represents your tendencies to be more open or more reserved when communicating about yourself and about the truth. Your Score is: 2.5 At work, your communication is fairly open. You are often comfortable initiating conversation with strangers. For you, transparency means telling the truth in most contexts regardless of the relationship or others' feelings. Low Context Dependence High Context Dependence Openness 1. COMMUNICATE CAUTIOUSLY 2. CONVEY FACTS SENSITIVELY KEY You Team Members Your Behaviors and Attitudes 1 1 1. COMMUNICATE CAUTIOUSLY Your Score is: 2.0 Your responses indicate that at work, you are usually an open and outgoing communicator. You usually initiate conversation with strangers and are comfortable bringing up personal matters (e.g. whether you have children, your favorite movie) with people you do not know well. Strengths and Challenges Because you are usually an open and outgoing communicator, it is easy for you to get to know new people at work. In a group setting when newcomers arrive, more cautious communicators may appreciate your gregariousness as it gives them time to stand back and observe. Challenges are likely to arise when newcomers are cautious communicators who may find your outgoing approach overly direct and intrusive. Recommendations Recognize that some people approach communication with strangers cautiously and do not like to talk about personal matters with most people. This behavior is based in their relationship style and is not a reflection of how much they like or dislike you. When you face cautious communicators, it is very important for you to be aware of their comfort level and respect their pace. 2. CONVEY FACTS SENSITIVELY Your Score is: 3.0 Your responses indicate that at work, you are often more of a factual communicator than a sensitive communicator. You often convey facts directly and objectively even at the risk of hurting someone's feelings or creating tension within a team environment. Strengths and Challenges You work well with other factual communicators who rely on and trust objective data. You generally agree that facts cannot be massaged for the sake of someone's reputation or maintaining group harmony. However, you may be frustrated when working with sensitive communicators who place a higher value on the balanced functioning of the group. Recommendations When working with communicators who convey facts sensitively, consider that in many parts of the world people believe that circumstances dictate how ideas and practices should be applied. Sensitive communicators raised with this value system are motivated to protect relationships and place a high value on an emotionally healthy team environment. Time Management style Team Size = 3 Task Structure is a characteristic of your time management style at work that describes the degree to which you perform tasks simultaneously or sequentially. Your Score is: 2.0 At work, your time management style is very linear in task structure. You usually complete tasks one by one rather than several at a time. Low Context Dependence High Context Dependence Task Structure KEY You Team Members 2 1 Strengths and Challenges A sequential approach to time sends clear and unambiguous messages to your counterparts. Because you like to work on one thing at a time, your counterparts know when they have your attention. You will be comfortable working in a Western-style business climate (e.g. North America, Europe) that has a more sequential approach to time management and task completion. You will find it challenging when others around you are multitaskers and in parts of the world that run on event time (e.g. South Asia, Latin America, Africa). Recommendations Effectively working alongside multitaskers requires open communication about different time management styles and setting clear expectations. Remember that multitaskers are good at switching between tasks rapidly and frequently, but at any given moment the brain can focus on only one task. When working among multitaskers, it will serve you well to protect your focus time by scheduling specific days/times for uninterrupted work. Time Management style Team Size = 3 Scheduling is a characteristic of your time management style at work that describes the degree to which you are strict versus flexible with schedules and deadlines. Your Score is: 1.0 At work, your time management style strictly adheres to clock time. You stick to a schedule to manage your time and are not flexible with deadlines. Low Context Dependence High Context Dependence Scheduling 1. FLEXIBLE WITH SCHEDULES 2. FLEXIBLE WITH DEADLINES KEY You Team Members Your Behaviors and Attitudes 2 1 1. FLEXIBLE WITH SCHEDULES Your Score is: 1.0 You are not flexible with schedules at work. You almost always keep a carefully planned schedule on your calendar and refer to it regularly to help you organize your day and get things done. Strengths and Challenges Your scheduling behaviors will be similar to others in an organizational or national culture where time is a measurable resource. Relying on a schedule allows you to organize your day and set priorities in a way that is clear and reliable to you and others. When counterparts you rely on are flexible with schedules, you are likely to experience frustration and other negative emotions. Recommendations When working with people who do not use a calendar or keep it updated, you may need to select meeting locations and send meeting reminders to increase the likelihood that your counterparts will be present when you expect the meeting to start. It will serve you well to be proactive - discuss your differences openly, set clear and reasonable expectations, and avoid making negative attributions (e.g. disorganized, rude) if a counterpart has a different style than yours. 2. FLEXIBLE WITH DEADLINES Your Score is: 1.0 Your responses indicate that you are almost never flexible with deadlines at work. You almost always pay strict attention to deadlines and take satisfaction in meeting them. Strengths and Challenges Your time management behaviors around deadlines will be similar to others in an organizational or national culture where time is a measurable resource. In such cultures, meeting deadlines is often associated with being organized, efficient, and responsible. Failing to meet a deadline may be considered rude and irresponsible, because it affects your coworkers' plans and schedules. When counterparts you rely on are flexible with deadlines, you are likely to experience frustration when managing work flow. Recommendations When working with people who do not pay strict attention to deadlines, you should openly discuss your different deadline management preferences. It will serve you well to create timelines that allow flexibility and also independent work flows so that you aren't waiting for a more event-time oriented counterpart. Time Management style Team Size = 3 Sharing Time is a characteristic of your time management style at work that describes the degree to which you consider interruptions disruptive versus expected as you move throughout your day. Your Score is: 1.3 At work, your time management style strictly adheres to clock time and shows strong respect for your counterpart's schedule. You almost never allow interruptions during a meeting, such as taking a phone call or pausing to chat with someone who pops their head into your office. Low Context Dependence High Context Dependence Sharing Time KEY You Team Members 1 1 Strengths and Challenges Your attitudes towards sharing time will be similar to others in an organizational or national culture where time is a measurable resource, promptness is valued, and scheduled meeting times are protected from interruptions. You will find it challenging to work with people who have a more fluid view of time. When time is a fluid, shared resource, people do not consider lateness or interruptions rude. Remember that attitudes towards time come from a cultural belief system and are not a reflection of someone's organizational skills or respect. Recommendations It is important to remember that attitudes towards time are formed and reinforced through our childhood socialization. Like many aspects of culture, they are firmly ingrained and difficult to change. Some might argue it is unreasonable to ask someone to change such a broad cultural attitude as our understanding of time. It will serve you well to remember that attitudes towards time come from a cultural belief system and are not a reflection of someone's organizational skills or respect. You can manage diverse attitudes towards sharing time by noticing differences and setting clear expectations about time management for your interpersonal, team, and broader workplace relationships. Sensory style Team Size = 3 Body language is a characteristic of your sensory style at work that refers to your attitudes towards using body language to engage with your counterpart. Your Score is: 3.9 At work, your sensory style is characterized by a slightly reserved attitude towards body language. You consider it mildly impolite to look your counterpart directly in the eye, directly face your counterpart, or be physically close. Low Context Dependence High Context Dependence Body Language 1. CLOSENESS IS POLITE 2. EYE CONTACT IS POLITE 2. FACING OTHER IS POLITE KEY You Team Members Your Behaviors and Attitudes 2 1 1. CLOSENESS IS POLITE Your Score is: 1.0 Your responses indicate that at work, you almost never associate close personal distance with politeness. For you, close personal distance is rude and pushy. Strengths and Challenges Your adverse attitudes towards close personal distance mean you will be comfortable working in parts of the world where a larger personal distance is the norm (e.g. Japan). In such cultures, arms-length distance in conversation is respectful of your counterpart and their personal communication space. It will be challenging for you to work in parts of the world where people share communication space and close personal distance is considered acceptable and polite. Recommendations It is important to remember that attitudes towards physical closeness are formed in childhood and young adulthood. Like many aspects of culture, these attitudes are instinctual and automatic. It will serve you well to let counterparts know if their closeness makes you feel uncomfortable or threatened. But also remember that from your counterparts' perspective, physical closeness may be a natural form of conversational engagement that is not interpreted as rude or pushy. 2. EYE CONTACT IS POLITE Your Score is: 4.0 Your responses indicate that at work, you occasionally associate eye contact with politeness. Strengths and Challenges Your moderate attitudes towards eye contact suggest that you can be comfortable with counterparts who use direct eye contact as well as those who avoid eye contact. When working in a diverse group, you can help interpret others' communication when counterparts' attitudes towards eye gaze are in conflict. Your moderate attitudes may help you adjust easily to working in parts of the world where eye contact signals engagement (e.g. Latin American and Mediterranean regions) and also parts of the world where eye contact is considered rude (e.g. East Asia). Recommendations If you notice discomfort or awkwardness related to different attitudes towards eye contact in a diverse group, try leading a process intervention. Discussing different meanings, interpretations, and levels of comfort with direct eye contact is a good way to increase awareness of differences across individuals and cultures. Ask team members to imagine how it would feel to look directly in the eyes of a peer versus a superior at work; when sending a positive versus a critical message at work. 2. FACING OTHER IS POLITE Your Score is: 6.7 Your responses indicate that at work, you almost always associate facing your counterpart with politeness. Strengths and Challenges As someone who generally associates facing your counterpart with politeness, interest, and attention, you pay particular attention to body language in yourself and others. One's body position should be open and squared towards their counterpart when they are engaged in the conversation. When a counterpart's body is facing to the side or away, you may assume they are uninterested or their attention is elsewhere. The association between facing one's counterpart and politeness is shared in most Western and Far Eastern business contexts. You are likely to find it difficult to interpret flexible body posture norms that are typically found in highly expressive Latin America and Mediterranean cultures. Recommendations Be aware of different norms for facing others in conversation. When you are working with people accustomed to more relaxed body posture, it will serve you well to ask questions and use active listening to test your perceptions of conversational engagement and attention. Sensory style Team Size = 3 Dramatic Expression is a characteristic of your sensory style at work that describes the degree to which your vocal tone and physical gestures signal engagement with your counterpart. Your Score is: 2.1 At work, your conversational display style is very reserved. You do not speak loudly, use big hand gestures, or interrupt your counterpart. You are comfortable with silence in conversation. Low Context Dependence High Context Dependence Dramatic Expression 1. INTERRUPT 2. AVOID SILENCE 3. DRAMATIC EXPRESSION 4. LOUDNESS IS ENGAGING KEY You Team Members Your Behaviors and Attitudes 2 1 1. INTERRUPT Your Score is: 1.0 Your responses indicate that at work, you almost never interrupt counterparts when they are talking. You almost always listen rather than talk over others. Strengths and Challenges Avoiding interruption allows for active listening, attending to your counterpart's verbal and nonverbal expression, and asking clarifying questions. When working with people who interrupt as a form of communication engagement, it will be challenging to contribute to the discussion, make sure your contributions are heard, and avoid assuming others' interruptions are rude or aggressive. Recommendations People who interrupt as a form of communication engagement may not realize you require communication distance to be most effective in a conversation. To manage interruptions that feel intrusive and distracting, it will serve you well to put up your hand and calmly say, "please let me finish," as often as necessary. 2. AVOID SILENCE Your Score is: 1.7 Your responses indicate that you almost always embrace silence in communication at work. You are regularly quiet in group settings. Strengths and Challenges Being comfortable with silence has many strengths; you can take time to listen to your counterpart and compose your thoughts before speaking. In group settings, remaining silent can also create moments of power when the group eventually asks for your input. In a negotiation, people who avoid silence will fill your silent space with questions and information that can be a strategic advantage. Your challenge when working with people who avoid silence is making sure your silence is not misinterpreted as a lack of interest or attention. Recommendations Remember that people who are accustomed to filling silent space may interpret your silence as disinterest or even evasion. It will serve you well to label your silence as time to pause and reflect, in order to avoid misinterpretation. 3. DRAMATIC EXPRESSION Your Score is: 4.8 Your responses indicate that you often tell stories or anecdotes at work. When communicating, you often use gestures or colorful language to engage your listener. Strengths and Challenges By often engaging in dramatic communication at work, you share conversational space. You may find it challenging to work with those who focus on essential information and minimal expression. They may seem cold and distant to you. Recommendations Beware that people who do not share communication space may find your dramatic expression inefficient, or distracting. They may express frustration for stories and anecdotes that are not clearly related to the task at hand. Your dramatic gestures and verbal exaggeration may subconsciously intrude on their personal space. You could temper your dramatic expression to raise your counterpart's comfort level, and then examine other means of affiliation. 4. LOUDNESS IS ENGAGING Your Score is: 1.0 You almost always find it rude or are annoyed when people talk loudly at work. For you, speaking loudly is certainly not a positive signal that the speaker is highly engaged in the conversation. Strengths and Challenges Because you often find others' loudness rude and annoying, you are probably a quiet talker. Quiet talkers are respected for their calm reserve. When working with people who engage through loudness, you face three challenges: 1) their loudness is overbearing and invasive, 2) they do not hear you, 3) they attribute your quiet style to a lack of interest or involvement. Recommendations Remember that attitudes towards loudness are formed through early socialization. Like many aspects of culture, they are firmly ingrained. Let counterparts know if their loudness makes you feel uncomfortable or threatened. Try to attribute your counterpart's behavior to a natural communication style rather than a rude or dominating personality. Sensory style Team Size = 3 Physical contact is a characteristic of your sensory style at work that describes the degree to which sharing space signals engagement with your counterpart. Your Score is: 1.0 At work, you sensory style is characterized by very low physical contact. You strongly avoid touching and prefer to keep physical distance or a barrier between you and your counterpart to respect their personal space. Low Context Dependence High Context Dependence Physical Contact 1. TOUCH COUNTERPART 2. STAND NEAR COUNTERPART KEY You Team Members Your Behaviors and Attitudes 2 1 1. TOUCH COUNTERPART Your Score is: 1.0 Your responses indicate that you almost never touch your counterpart in workplace communication. You almost never hug or kiss when greeting someone or concluding a conversation. Strengths and Challenges Maintaining arms-length distance in conversation and avoiding kissing/hugging hello or goodbye are reserved communication behaviors that respect personal communication space for you and for your counterpart. Your behaviors are safely neutral, as social touching can feel intrusive and unpleasant for many people. However, when you work in parts of the world where conversational engagement is physical, your behaviors will seem very standoffish and cold. Recommendations Remember that people who are accustomed to touch as a form of conversational engagement could misinterpret your more reserved interpersonal style as a lack of engagement or liking. At the same time, if you feel uncomfortable with your counterpart's social touching, it will serve you well to let them know verbally. You can also subtly create distance by manipulating the physical context (e.g. where you are standing, objects between you and your counterpart, etc.). 2. STAND NEAR COUNTERPART Your Score is: 1.0 Your responses indicate that you almost never stand close enough to touch your counterpart in conversation at work. You are most often comfortable when there is a desk or barrier between you and your counterpart. Strengths and Challenges By maintaining personal distance when standing in conversation and seated at meetings, you show respect for your counterpart's personal communication space. Your preferred personal distance will not make others feel crowded or uncomfortable. However, when you work in parts of the world where people share communication space, your personal distance may get in the way of forming close business relationships. Recommendations Remember that people who stand close as a form of communication engagement may find your personal space norms too formal or distant. At the same time, if you feel uncomfortable with a counterpart's close personal distance, you should respectfully let them know, for example saying "I need a little more personal space please," or by subtly backing up a few paces while maintaining verbal engagement 1. You will reflect on the four main characteristics of your communication style: • Message – the way you use and interpret subtle (vs. literal) meaning and emotion in communication • Sensory - refers to the way you attend to and communicate through the physical, auditory, and vocal space shared with your counterpart. • Time management - refers to the way you attend to and manage time, i.e. focusing more on clock time or allowing events to unfold naturally. • Relationship - refers to the way you adjust communication to your counterpart's status and relationship with you. 2. Please plan to spend some quality time responding to the questions in this workbook. The more effort you put into self-reflecting and understanding yourself, the more you will get out of this activity. 3. As you work through your responses, please remember that our cultural environment largely influences our communication styles. For example, research has shown that direct verbal assertiveness, linear logic, straightforwardness, and transparent messages (e.g., “saying what you mean and meaning what you say”) are characteristic of low-context communication styles common in individualistic cultures. Silence, non-verbal cues and behaviors (e.g., reading between the lines), spiral or fuzzy logic, and self-humbling tone are characteristic of high-context communication styles common in collectivistic cultures. However, it is important to keep in mind the relative nature of the cultural environment when reflecting on and discussing communication styles. There are considerable variations in commutation styles within cultures as well. One could use direct, low-context communication styles when interactive with one group (e.g., coworkers) or discussing one matter (e.g., contract), and prefer indirect, high-context communication styles when interacting with a different group (e.g., family) or discussing a different matter (e.g., personal relationships). For instance, we cannot assume that a German person will automatically communicate using low-context communication styles, while a person from Japan will automatically use high-context communication styles. The best strategy is to observe each particular person within each particular communication context and figure out what communication styles they might be using based on the characteristics of low-context communication styles (e.g., direct verbal assertiveness, linear logic, straightforwardness, etc.) and high-context communication styles (e.g., non-verbal cues, self-humbling tone, etc.). Then you can adjust your own communication styles to best encode messages that you’d like your communication counterparts to receive and adjust your interpretations of your counterparts’ messages to better understand the meaning they are trying to transmit to you in their messages. Message Style Your message style describes your preferences for • Focusing on implicit messages and other’s emotions when receiving or communicating messages (Interpretation) • Communicating in indirect ways to avoid hurting someone’s feelings and letting feelings guide your communication and persuasion (Expression). • Avoiding confrontation and expressing disagreement (Conflict Management). Think carefully about your results – what you scored high on, what your scored low on, and the ones with mid-range. ➢ In what ways do your communication experiences illustrate your pattern of scores? ➢ Think of a situation or context when and where you believe you had a similar MESSAGE STYLE with your counterpart(s). Why do you believe you had a similar message style? How did this impact your interactions? ➢ Think of a situation or context when and where you believe you had a different MESSAGE STYLE with your counterpart(s). Why do you believe you had a different message style? How did this impact your interactions? ➢ Now that you are aware of your MESSAGE STYLE, are there things you could do to enhance your communication with others? What could you do? Relationship Style Your relationship style describes your preferences for • Dealing with people you have not known for a long time and people who are not in your social networks (Network Reliance) • Adjusting what you say and how you say it for your own image or based on your counterparts’ feelings and status (Relational Adjustment) • Communicating cautiously and conveying facts sensitively (Openness) Think carefully about your results – what you scored high on, what your scored low on, and the ones with mid-range. ➢ In what ways do your communication experiences illustrate your pattern of scores? ➢ Think of a situation or context when and where you believe you had a similar RELATIONSHIP STYLE with your counterpart(s). Why do you believe you had a similar message style? How did this impact your interactions? ➢ Think of a situation or context when and where you believe you had a different RELATIONSHIP STYLE with your counterpart(s). Why do you believe you had a different message style? How did this impact your interactions? ➢ Now that you are aware of your RELATIONSHIP STYLE, are there things you could do to enhance your communication with others? What could you do? Time Management Your time management style describes your preferences for • Performing tasks simultaneously or sequentially (Task Structure) • Being strict versus flexible with schedules and deadlines (Scheduling) • Not having any interruptions versus considering interruptions expected in your interactions (Sharing Time) Think carefully about your results – what you scored high on, what your scored low on, and the ones with mid-range. ➢ In what ways do your communication experiences illustrate your pattern of scores? ➢ Think of a situation or context when and where you believe you had a similar TIME MANAGEMENT STYLE with your counterpart(s). Why do you believe you had a similar message style? How did this impact your interactions? ➢ Think of a situation or context when and where you believe you had a different TIME MANAGEMENT STYLE with your counterpart(s). Why do you believe you had a different message style? How did this impact your interactions? ➢ Now that you are aware of your TIME MANAGEMENT STYLE, are there things you could do to enhance your communication with others? What could you do? Sensory Style Your sensory style describes your preferences for • Facing others, maintaining eye contact, and keeping close personal distance (Body Language) • Avoiding silence, interruptions, dramatic expressions, and engaging loudness (Dramatic Expression) • Engaging your counterpart in interactions through touch and close personal distance (Physical Contact) Think carefully about your results – what you scored high on, what your scored low on, and the ones with mid-range. ➢ In what ways do your communication experiences illustrate your pattern of scores? ➢ Think of a situation or context when and where you believe you had a similar SENSORY STYLE with your counterpart(s). Why do you believe you had a similar message style? How did this impact your interactions? ➢ Think of a situation or context when and where you believe you had a different SENSORY STYLE with your counterpart(s). Why do you believe you had a different message style? How did this impact your interactions? ➢ Now that you are aware of your SENSORY STYLE, are there things you could do to enhance your communication with others? What could you do?
Purchase answer to see full attachment