William & Sharon Arnold
Family/Extracurricular Info

• The Animal Kingdom, "our kids"
• Intercessory Prayer Group
• Our Corvette Hobby
• Cochlear Implant

At the root of the Platinum Rule is this: Each person has his or her own habits and his or her own way of looking at the world. Those recurring traits fall into fairly predictable patterns, known as behavioral styles or personal styles.

Each of us telegraphs our personal style by the way we shake hands, how we react to stress, the way our office looks, how we make decisions, whether we're crisp or chatty on the phone -- and in many other ways. The skill is in learning to spot those signals, identify the other person's style, then adjust our own behavior to lessen conflict.

Let's keep it simple; the following four-style model spans all cultures and has been validated with hundreds of thousands of people. It focuses on patterns of observable, external clues that will give you a sense of what's going on inside someone else's head.

Directors: Firm and forceful, confident and competitive, decisive and determined risk-takers. While their impatience sometimes causes eyes to roll, the Directors leave no doubt who they think sits at the head of the table.

Socializers: Outgoing, optimistic, enthusiastic people who like to be at the center of things. Socializers have lots of ideas and love to talk, especially about themselves.

Relaters: Genial team players who like stability more than risk and who care greatly about relationships with others. they're likeable but sometimes too timid and slow to change.

Thinkers: Self-controlled and cautious, preferring analysis over emotion. They love clarity and order but may come across as a bit starchy.

As you'll see, natural allies and enemies abound among the various styles. But here's the bottom line: Your communication is only as good as your understanding of the person you are communicating with!

So where do you (or someone you know) fit in the Platinum Rule?

Click here to try the Platinum Assessment!