'Typing' your emails: communicating better with the MBTI tool

This is a repost of an article by Patrick Kerwin of Psychometrics Canada on the CPP Connect blog, http://www.cppblogcentral.com/cpp-connect.
 
You go to a meeting, grab a bite to eat, or even run to the restroom, and yet it never sleeps: your email inbox. So you sit down with your computer or Blackberry and start hammering out replies rapid-fire. However, those emails can often be misinterpreted by the recipient, leading to confusion and miscommunication between colleagues. 
 
Could some of the confusion and miscommunication relate to psychological type? Could it be that the sender of the email has different type preferences than the reader? This would explain why miscommunication occurs so frequently through email.

Some emails are written clearly and are easy to comprehend, but others sometimes create confusion because they are either unclear, missing pertinent information, or have too much detail. The tone of an email can also cause miscommunication, because the email may be construed as rude when it was really intended to 'get straight to the point'.

One of the most common and valuable uses of type in the workplace lies in improving communication. Many of us apply type in our everyday verbal interactions, modifying what we say or how we say it by trying to speak the 'type language' of those with whom we interact – a process called 'type flexing'.

But while we tend to be conscious of our type language when we speak, the speed of email communication allows us to be less conscious of how we write, causing our type preferences to flow unfiltered. In other words, while the emails go flying from your fingertips, type flexing often goes flying right out the window.

See if you can identify the unfiltered type preferences expressed in the following emails:

• Intuition (N): The email is largely conceptual, with no mention of costs for the new website or any other specifics.
• Feeling (F): This preference comes through the clearest, starting with the first sentence.  She also writes about not confronting a team member, the website situation being awkward, and being happy to recognize and welcome people. She also creates a consensus process for decision-making.
• Judging (J): The clue for this one is the structure of the email. J’s will often delineate topics into separate paragraphs.

• Sensing (S): The email is precise, efficient, and to the point.
• Thinking (T): The email is objective and takes care of business. The focus is on the matter at hand, not on the people involved in the email exchange.

Now imagine ENFJ Susan’s email going to ESTJ Ronald! He may have been frustrated by the personal tone of the email and its lack of detail. Or imagine the reverse – ENFJ Susan may have been offended by ESTJ Ronald’s lack of a personal tone and the directness of his email. These emails, both in their 'unfiltered type' form, could have easily created confusion or miscommunication with their recipient.

The next time you send an email, take a few seconds before hitting 'Send' to review what you’ve written. Did you write in 'unfiltered type', or did you flex your type language to best reach your audience? Just like talking type, writing type can help your written interactions become more effective and meaningful, and can help you avoid the needless problems that come along with miscommunication.