Your Communication Strengths

Everyone has preferences about how they like to communicate with others. Some folks do well in just one or two quadrants. Others have developed strengths in three or even all four areas.

When you focus most of your storytelling and content creation efforts in the areas you’re best at, you’ll get more done quicker and feel happier while you’re doing it.

That isn’t to say you should only focus on your strengths. But definitely know that when things feel uncomfortable for you, you’ll need to give yourself a bit more time and space to create something of quality.

The following descriptions are examples of the types and formats of communication for each quadrant:

Type A: Brief & Pithy Writer

If your preferences fall into the A Quadrant, you’ll excel at writing shorter pieces like blog posts, social media posts; possibly even poems and lyrics. If you want to tackle longer projects, be sure to chunk them down first.

Type B: Concise Talker

If you’re mostly a Type B communicator, you’ll do well with video (not longer than 3 min); audio (not longer than 5 min) and mini-presentations (not longer than 10 min). If you want to tackle longer projects, be sure lean on outlines and do a little bit at a time.

Example of great videos: http://www.innercanvas.com/

Type C: Deep Writer

When your strengths show up in the C Quadrant, you have a knack for writing longer types of works. Think: magazine articles (2500+ words), white papers, and yes, full-length books. You may also need to practice getting to your point sooner. Some Type C folks tend to include too many tangential points.

Type D: Far-Reaching Speaker

As a Type D communicator, you do well with longer form audio and video. These projects include things like podcasts, interviews, workshops, public speaking and other presentations. Like the Type C communicator, you may have a tendency to talk too much. Be sure you slow down enough to listen to your audience.

Your Storytelling Sweetspot(s)

The Seven Basic Story Plots correspond to your Fascinate Advantages:

Rebirth (Innovation)

Stories about reinvention, invention, creation, creativity.

Underdog (Trust)

Stories about a struggle against a terrible monster. Fighting the system, a health issue, a paradigm.

Quest (Prestige)

Problem solving stories. Goal-achieving stories. Think Chris Guillebeau’s quest to visit every country in the world. There’s a journey involved, but it’s consciously chosen.

Journey/Return (Mystique)

Being thrown into circumstances not of your choosing. Learning lessons and overcoming obstacles. Sharing lessons learned.

Rags to Riches (Power)

Going from zero to hero. From obscurity to fame. From neophyte to expert.

Comedy (Passion)

Stories about community, relationships and clarity.

Tragedy (Alert)

Cautionary tales. Don’t do these things or you’ll be sorry.