Your Communication Preferences

How do you prefer people to communicate with you?

We all have communication preferences. Some approaches feel natural and helpful to us, while others may require a little more adjustment.

In this short assessment, you'll respond to 12 everyday workplace situations. There are no right or wrong answers, and no ideal communication style.

Simply choose the response that feels most natural to you out of the five available on each scale.

At the end, you'll get a snapshot of your preferences across three communication dimensions, along with some ideas for how you can use them as a manager.

Don't overthink your answers. Go with what you would genuinely prefer.

1. A manager gives you a new assignment.

A: “Here’s what we need to achieve and why it matters. I’ll leave it to you to decide the best way to get there.”

B: “Here’s what we need to achieve. Let me walk you through the main steps and what I’d like you to do first.”

Which approach would you prefer?

Strongly
prefer A No preference Strongly
prefer B

2. Someone wants your opinion on an idea during a meeting.

A: They ask you there and then, so you can talk through your thoughts together.

B: They give you the idea beforehand and let you know they would like your thoughts at the meeting.

Which approach would you prefer?

Strongly
prefer A No preference Strongly
prefer B

3. Your manager needs to tell you that something in your work needs to improve.

A: They get straight to the issue:
“There’s something here that we need to improve. Let’s look at it.”

B: They start by checking in with you and creating a friendly atmosphere before moving into what needs to improve.

Which approach would you prefer?

Strongly
prefer A No preference Strongly
prefer B

4. You are asked to solve a problem you haven't dealt with before.

A: You are given the goal, the important boundaries and the freedom to work out your own approach.

B: You are given the goal along with some suggested steps and guidance for how to approach it.

Which would you prefer?

Strongly
prefer A No preference Strongly
prefer B

5. A colleague wants to discuss a difficult problem with you.

A: They say: “Can we talk it through? I’m not sure what I think yet, but maybe we can figure it out together.”

B: They say: “I’d like your thoughts on something. Have a think about it, and then let’s sit down and discuss it.”

Which approach would you prefer?

Strongly
prefer A No preference Strongly
prefer B

6. Your manager asks you to take on an extra task during a busy week.

A: “Could you take care of this by Thursday? I know you already have a lot going on, so let’s look at how we can make it work.”

B: “I need you to take care of this by Thursday. Let me know if that creates a problem with your other priorities.”

Which approach would you prefer?

Strongly
prefer A No preference Strongly
prefer B

7. You're learning a new responsibility at work.

A: Someone explains the process, gives you examples and makes sure you know what to do at each stage.

B: Someone explains the result you're responsible for, shows you the main boundaries and lets you find your own way of doing it.

Which approach would you prefer?

Strongly
prefer A No preference Strongly
prefer B

8. During a meeting, an unexpected question comes up and someone asks what you think.

A: You'd rather take a little time to think and come back with a considered answer.

B: You're happy to start talking through your thoughts, even if you haven't reached a conclusion yet.

Which would you prefer?

Strongly
prefer A No preference Strongly
prefer B

9. You receive a message from your manager asking you to change something you've done.

A: “Thanks for putting this together. Could we make a couple of changes? I think we're nearly there.”

B: “Please change these two things before you send the final version.”

Which style would you generally prefer?

Strongly
prefer A No preference Strongly
prefer B

10. Your team is starting a new project.

A: Your manager explains the purpose, desired result and important constraints, then lets the team work out how to organize the work.

B: Your manager explains the purpose and desired result, then helps the team establish roles, milestones and next steps.

Which approach would you prefer?

Strongly
prefer A No preference Strongly
prefer B

11. Someone wants your input on an important decision.

A: They send you the key information first and give you some time to form your thoughts before discussing it.

B: They invite you to a conversation where you can explore the information and develop your thoughts together.

Which approach would you prefer?

Strongly
prefer A No preference Strongly
prefer B

12. You arrive for a one-to-one meeting with your manager.

A: They spend a few moments asking how things are going before moving on to the work topics.

B: They start with the topics you need to cover and move straight into the conversation.

Which would you generally prefer?

Strongly
prefer A No preference Strongly
prefer B