[Sharon]

Think of an example of when you adjusted your communication to meet another person’s style. Are you a thinker, feeler, doer or imaginer? Why do you believe that is your style? Share your example and thoughts on the discussion forum.

[Chad]

I naturally like to understand the details while considering everyone’s feelings. However, I’ve worked with people who are more action-oriented and just want to get things done! Instead of giving my usual detailed explanation, I learned to keep things short, clear, and focused on solutions. Sometimes I have to remind myself that not everyone wants the full story!

I am a Thinker feeler. I was able to determine this by the reading and definitions of each category. I also used AI to help me create a tool of 8 quetsions that helps identify your dominant style. I have made it into a infographic and attached to the post.

Understanding these different styles makes it easier to effectively communicate to clients, team members , colleagues etc.

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[Jennifer]

Wow, Chad, this is so cool! What a useful, fun tool you created. Maybe you are more of an imaginer than you think?
I went through the steps in your infographic and feel I may be more of a doer/thinker. But there were certainly some feeler questions in there too.
Anyhow, this topic has been somewhat enlightening for me. I have been through communication courses with different styles in the past. However, I don’t think I fully appreciated what understanding other people’s communication styles could do to optimize those interactions both professionally and personally.

[Leona]

Chad,
The tool you shared is very educational and informative.I have actually read it several times and each time I find something valuable to learn from it.Thank you for sharing such a useful and insightful learning resource.

[Sarina]

Chad,

I love this resource! In taking it I believe I may be a bit more of a ‘feeler’ than I expected!
This would be such an interesting exercise to do with a team!

[Jennifer]

I believe that in different circumstances, people choose different communication styles. If I think about how I communicate at home, I would say I’m a doer and possibly an imaginer. However, upon asking my family, it seems they feel I am a thinker and a feeler. This actually confirmed my suspicions. I communicate differently depending on the situational context and individual I am speaking with.

One example of how I have changed my communication style to meet the needs of others is when I’m working with the young lady I support. I believe, after reading through the styles, that she often communicates as a feeler. She is very close to her family, and I believe she feels decisions are made as a united front, rather than individually. Often, we discus how her goals can positively impact the people closest to her; knowing this, she seems to feel a great sense of contribution.
I often have a stronger tendency to communicate at home as a doer. Due to my expectations and time constraints, I find myself communicating less from a therapeutic standpoint and more from a “get it done” position. I also feel that I can be an imaginer. For instance, when taking on projects like home renovations, I want to know the goal or focus. Seeing the end game allows me to work backwards and understand exactly what steps are needed to get there.

[Chad]

Your example is brilliant and I suspect that naturally we adjust our communication, on a subconscious level. A huge part of our career is communication. Giving report, assessment questions, educating, advocating, working with other professionals etc.. I think we adjust our style as situation or person changes. I also agree this course has opened my eyes to new ideas, and moving forward these styles will be a consideration in my communication.

[Leona]

I believe I am more of a feeler in my comminucation style because I value empathy,understanding, and building relationship with others.As a nurse, I try to consider the feelings and perspective of my residents and colleagues when communicating.
For example,if I have a resident who is anxious or upset,I would approach them calmly,listen to their concerns,acknowledge their feelings and provide reassurance.However, I also understand that not everyone communicates in the same way.If am communicating with a person who prefers direct,factual and task oriented approach,I would adjust my style by being clear,concise and focus on information they need.
This taught me that effective coomunication is not just about expressing my own thoughts and feelings ,but also understanding and adapting to other.As a nurse this helps me build trust,promote teamwork and provide compassionate,patient-centered care.

[Marilyn]

Hi Everyone, great conversation so far!

I appreciate the insight into adapting communication styles to meet the needs of others. This is so important in nursing, where the way we communicate can strengthen relationships, support collaboration, and help us provide person-centred care.

@Chad, I love that you thought outside the box and created an infographic! This is a great example of leadership through creativity and initiative. Finding different ways to share information can help others better understand themselves and the people they work with, creating opportunities for more inclusive and meaningful communication.

As leaders, we may not always communicate in the same way as others, and that’s okay! What matters is being willing to listen, adapt, and recognize the different perspectives people bring. The thread so far is a great reminder that self-awareness, flexibility, and empathy can go a long way in building trust and creating an environment where everyone feels heard and valued.

[Elena]

In my opinion, as nurses, we adapt our communication style every time we interact with different patients. In my experience as a visiting nurse, I meet different people every day, including children, clients with dementia, and clients whose first language is neither English nor French. Each time, I need to simplify my language and adjust the way I communicate to make sure I am understood. Sometimes, clients are very knowledgeable or work in healthcare, and they also need to adapt their communication to help me, as English is not my first language! I believe that we all use a mix of communication styles and can be thinkers, feelers, doers, or imaginers depending on the situation and the person we are talking to. However, I think my main communication style is that of a feeler. I have always found it easy to understand and share other people’s emotions, even before I became a nurse. I feel connected to others and often adapt my behaviour and communication to their needs. When working in groups, this characteristic often makes me a peacemaker when conflicts arise between colleagues. It may seem like I never take sides, but in reality, I try to understand everyone’s point of view and bring people together by finding the positive aspects of each person’s ideas. It is not always easy, but I believe it is important to help people understand each other and work together.

[Emma]

As years go on I have noticed that LTC has more of a diverse population. For many years we struggle with trying to communicate with someone whom has advanced cognitive impairment and no longer understands what is being asked. To then having to take those skills plus learn new skills to adapt to another population. Then you add in religion and beliefs, no communication course can teach you all the skills that will work for everyone. Always willing to learn and adapt your communication skills is key, especially when working in community and you really have no one else physically with you to help with adapting to the communication style that is needed in the moment.

[Dayna]

Thank you, Elena for sharing this information. Living in Canada, we have a large multicultural population with different languages, religion and beliefs. I find this is the same with some of our co-workers. I work with a lot of staff who’s first language is no English and are new to Canada. I find that my communication style with each person individually is different. It is also the same the opposite way around. Our workers, clients and patients who are not fluent in English and have different beliefs adapt to how they communicate with us as well. It is a team effort!

[Emma]

I believe that I naturally am a doer despite not really wanting to be. I often come across very assertive which can be misinterpreted leading to ineffective communication skills. I find myself getting easily annoyed with the people who story tell and it just goes on and on. I like to get right to the point and absolutely despise when someone else is “beating around the bush”.

When approaching a unregulated staff about their documentation that is incorrect I will often start with the expectations before listening to their side to see if they were just unaware of how to document the outcome or missing education, and/or simply just not documenting right.

However I have come to learn after taking “crucial Conversations” that this is not a productive way to have a high stake conversation with a productive outcome. In this course it teaching you how to direct the conversation to have a productive outcome without escalation. teaching you to listen and validate while also sharing your thoughts and feelings resulting in a meaningful conversation with a productive outcome.

[Dayna]

I would say that my communication style is more of a “feeler”. In the reading, I agree that we all don’t have one communication style and we do adapt to everyone individually. I am a “feeler”, because I like to listen to the value of others on the team and like to hear other’s opinions. I find that when we communicate with one another as a group, we can achieve great things and progress well. It will keep everyone on the same wave length. Even though that this is from my perspective and thoughts, this does not always go the way we hope. This leads to the adaption to communicate with others with different strategies and thoughts.

An example of when I had to alter my communication is when I need to hold meetings with other interdisciplinary team members. I was in a meeting one day to debrief an in person meeting that didn’t go the way I was hoping. This meeting had other interdisciplinary team members on for additional support. It’s not that this person and I didn’t get along, we just have different communication styles and we needed to discuss expectations moving forward.
During out meeting, I like to get others opinions so everyone understands each-other, where as the person I had an in person meeting with is a “doer”. They like to get things done and is straight to the point to get the results. Even though I like to get a feel for others around me and like to ask questions, I took a step back and let the other interdisciplinary team members (one being my manager) take the lead. I did chime in from time to time to give my opinion and personal side of view. During this interaction, I changed my approach to more of a “doer/thinker” to help close this chapter and move forward. I minimized my questions, and also gave myself time to gather the data of this situation.

I find that as health care professionals, we are always adapting to our communication styles because everyone has different personalities, opinions and strategies.

[Nadia]

Hi Dayna,
I am also a feeler and I like the fact that you mention that you like to listen and value other people’s opinions. This I believe is always important because its makes others feel heard and can make a difference too in their workplace. Since many may not like to speak up for themselves. This give them the confidence to voice their opinion’s since they are valued.

[Dayna]

Thank you, Chad for sharing this questionnaire. It confirmed for me that I am definitely a “feeler”! When reading the article, I automatically thought that I communicated as a “feeler”. This is quite accurate.

[Dayna]

Sorry Sharon, this comment was supposed to go under Chad’s post. I did click on his post to reply, but for some reason it went down to under my post. Sorry about that.

[Karolina]

I have very analytic mind and as a leader I assume I am a thinker. I love to analyze our LTC residents date and summarize it. I used my skills working as a RAI office leader. I was thriving doing that kind of job. Working as a RAI leader I learn how to find, have deeper understanding and summarize date. I learn how to find different sources of data and tools used for statistics in LTC. Having that inside helped me in my current front line job and I really benefit from these knowledge and skills.

[Sarina]

I think I tend to be mostly imaginer, I really like to see the whole picture and plan, and I hate to be given only a small piece of the puzzle. I constantly want to understand the “why” behind everything and have a hard time picturing the outcome without it.

In my role I do “nursing huddles” with each unit of the building, these are used to communicate upcoming events or changes, debrief or receive feedback on recent events and sometimes provide education. I’ve adapted my process based on some trends I noticed along the way. Second floor tends to have a lot of doer’s, that want the basic information and may ask a few follow up questions, so I try to come prepared with quick answers and I always go to this floor first. First floor on the other hand has several feelers and imaginers, this often results in much bigger discussions and sometimes spills into other issues or concerns. For this reason I always see them last, so I don’t feel rushed and I don’t make them feel rushed trying to get to the next unit. It gives time for a deeper explanation and more in-depth discussions that often lead to invaluable insights.

[Nadia]

As a nurse and a parent, I do believe I am constantly adjusting my communication style by being a good listener to meet the needs of my family, clients, and in my social life. For instance, one day at the park I met a mom and her child who was diagnosed with high-spectrum autism. The mom seems to be struggling to manage the child. I asked the mom if I can join them and she mentioned that the child likes playing ball so we played ball with the child to keep him calm. I believe, I am a feeler since I like to ensure other needs are met and that they are safe. And I am always self-reflecting on the needs of others and how I can assist and make it simple for them.

[Nadia]

As a nurse and a parent, I do believe I am constantly adjusting my communication style by being a good listener to meet the needs of my family, clients, and in my social life. For instance, one day at the park I met a mom and her child who was diagnosed with high-spectrum autism. The mom seems to be struggling to manage the child. I asked the mom if I can join them and she mentioned that the child likes playing ball so we played ball with the child to keep him calm.Overall, I never worked or socialize with a child with high spectrum autism but I adjusted communication style by being a doer and a feeler. By being proactive with my actions to keep the child engaged and by emphasizing with the mom. I believe, I am a feeler since I like to ensure other needs are met and that they are safe. And I am always self-reflecting on the needs of others and how I can assist and make it simple for them.

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