Types of Meeting Personalities and How to Interact with Them

Why should I Consider Different Types of Meeting Personalities?

In business meetings, you’re bound to come across a multitude of personality types. Before having a meeting, it’s important to consider who will be present and the strengths and weaknesses of each attendee’s personality.

Treating all meeting participants in the exact same way can be counterproductive because each person is motivated by different things. It’s important not to make assumptions about team members and how they will respond to activities and presentations.

The following are some of the ‘unique’ personalities you’re likely to encounter and how to embrace each of them.

The Leader

The leader is the person who sets the tone and agenda of a meeting and makes sure that everyone contributes. The leader is a great listener who can act swiftly to resolve any conflicts and knows how to delegate tasks.

The Extrovert

Extroverts thrive when they are the center of attention. They like to entertain people and make them laugh, and they like being around people and get energy from it. Extroverts need to have the opportunity to express themselves and shine.

The Wallflower

Wallflowers often have great ideas but never voice them. They usually don’t feel comfortable being the center of attention and only talk when they are called upon or if they feel like they have something important to say. Plan activities designed to get quiet people to speak up if you want to reap the benefits of their contributions.

The Detail-Oriented Person

Detail-oriented people are meticulous and always on top of their assignments. It can be beneficial to give detail-oriented people something productive to do during meetings, like transcribe the meeting or take notes. Alternatively, detail-oriented people can be counted on to delegate tasks after a meeting.

The Creative

Creatives think outside of the box and frequently come up with fresh, new ideas. They work with team members to help develop new concepts. When creatives come across a challenge, they see an opportunity to innovate and adapt. They love to try new things and like to be recognized for their innovations. Creatives do best in an environment where trial and error are allowed and encouraged.

The Team Player

Hopefully, most of the people at your meetings will be team players. Team players are enthusiastic meeting participants, who are happy to take on assignments and help resolve conflicts. Team players keep the momentum of a meeting going.

The Interrupter

Interrupters often change topics during meetings and take people off on a tangent. While this may lead them to come up with new, creative ideas, this can also derail your meeting’s agenda and irritate other meeting participants if you don’t rein them in.

The Multitasker

All of us have been guilty of multitasking in a meeting at one point or another. It is particularly difficult to engage with multitaskers online or over the phone. You may find that you have to repeat yourself frequently in meetings with multitaskers. It’s important to call on multitaskers often to ensure that you keep them on their toes and prevent them from getting too preoccupied with other tasks.

Increase the Effectiveness of Your Meetings

Meetings are a central part of the business world. At best, they help people exchange ideas, make decisions, collaborate, and strengthen relationships. At worst, they waste people’s time and don’t add value. Meetings are closely linked to the efficiency of your organization, which is why it’s so important to gain insight into different personality types and how they contribute to meetings. The mix of people in your meetings and the way that you address their personality types can make or break your meetings. By learning how to best interact with each personality type in a meeting, you can increase the effectiveness of your meetings.

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