BUSINESS ENGLISH – DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES AT WORK

Focus: describing workplace personalities, communicating with different types of people, and discussing which personalities are easiest or hardest to work with.

Goal: Participants will be able to describe colleagues tactfully, talk about personality differences, and discuss how to adapt communication at work.

1. Quick Review – Working Styles

Choose the best person for each situation and explain why.

ALEX: Very methodical and detail-oriented, but sometimes takes too long to finish things.

SAM: Very proactive and adaptable, but sometimes acts before discussing things with the team.

1. Who would you choose to check an important report before it goes to a client?

2. Who would you choose to deal with an unexpected problem?

3. Who would you choose to organize an important event?

4. Who would you choose to work with when you have a very tight deadline?

Bonus: Which person sounds more like you?

2. Vocabulary – Workplace Personalities

Positive, negative or both? Which words are mainly positive, mainly negative, or could be either depending on the situation?

Choose: Two qualities you appreciate in a colleague, and one that could be difficult for you.

3. Useful Phrases – Describing People Tactfully

He/She can come across as…

Use this to describe how someone may appear to other people.

Example: She can come across as quite demanding, but she just has high standards.

He/She tends to be a bit…

A softer way of describing a potentially negative characteristic.

Example: He tends to be a bit reserved in meetings.

Once you get to know him/her,…

Useful when your first impression of someone changes.

Example: Once you get to know her, she's actually very easy-going.

4. The Colleague Test

You must choose one. Then explain why.

1.

A: Brilliant at their job but very difficult to talk to.

B: Average at their job but incredibly easy to work with.

2.

A: Someone who tells you exactly what they think.

B: Someone who is always polite but rarely tells you what they really think.

3.

A: A demanding manager who helps you improve.

B: An easy-going manager who gives you complete freedom.

Extra challenge: Choose one pair where BOTH options would drive you crazy. What would your ideal third option be?

5. What Would You Do?

Situation 1

You have a colleague who interrupts people constantly during meetings.

Would you say something? What?

Situation 2

A very reserved colleague has a good idea but almost never speaks during meetings.

How could the team encourage them to contribute?

Situation 3

One member of your team is very outspoken. They often criticize ideas immediately.

Is this useful honesty or a problem? How would you deal with it?

6. Questions and Example Answers

1. What personality trait makes someone immediately easy for you to talk to?

Probably being easy-going. I find it much easier to talk to someone when I don't feel like they're judging everything I say.

2. Do you think first impressions at work are usually accurate?

Not always. Someone can come across as reserved at first, but once you get to know them, they can be completely different.

3. Can someone be too nice to be a good manager?

Yes, I think so. Managers sometimes have to make unpopular decisions, so being approachable is important, but they also need to be assertive.

4. Is it better to have colleagues who are similar to you or completely different from you?

I'd prefer a mixture. Similar personalities probably communicate more easily, but different people bring different ideas to the team.

5. What's a personality trait that can be both a strength and a weakness at work?

Being outspoken. It can be useful because people know exactly what you think, but you can also come across as rude.

6. Which is more difficult to deal with: someone who is too sensitive or someone who is too direct?

For me, someone who's too sensitive. I'd constantly worry about how they might react to what I say.

7. Have you ever completely changed your opinion of someone after getting to know them better?

Yes. I once thought a colleague was unfriendly because she was very reserved. Once I got to know her, I realized she was actually very warm and funny.

8. Should people change their communication style depending on who they're talking to, or should they simply be themselves?

Definitely. You don't need to change your personality, but I think being adaptable is an important professional skill.

9. Which type of person would be hardest for you to share an office with every day?

Someone who talks all day. I'm quite sociable, but I need quiet when I'm concentrating.

10. Imagine you could choose your next manager. What THREE personality traits would they have?

I'd choose someone approachable, assertive and easy-going. I'd want them to give me independence but still be available when I need help.