According to Gallup, the essence of the talent theme of Communication is the following:
Mostly, you like to explain,
to describe, to host, to speak in public, and to write. But, unlike what most people think, this talent is not only about speaking. It is about processing your thoughts - be in in words, art, music, photography or writing. This is your Communication
theme at work. Thus - be very careful not to confuse this talent of Communication with the skill of teaching, preaching or public speaking...To you, ideas are a dry beginning. Events are static. You feel a need to bring them to life, to energize them, to make them exciting and vivid. And so you turn events into stories and practice telling them. You take the dry idea and enliven it with images and examples and metaphors. You believe that most people have a very short attention span. They are bombarded by information, but very little of it survives. You want your information — whether an idea, an event, a product’s features and benefits, a discovery, or a lesson — to survive. You want to divert their attention toward you and then capture it, lock it in. This is what drives your hunt for the perfect phrase or image. This is what draws you toward dramatic words and powerful word combinations. This is why people like to listen to you, or take note of your method of communicating. Your communication pique their interest, sharpen their world, and inspire them to act. And, most importantly, it is how you process your thoughts.
But a talent like this on itself is quite meaningless unless you develop and manage it. That is why we believe that "a well managed talent becomes a strength, but a mismanaged talent becomes a detriment".
How do you manage the talent of Communication?
Communication is probably one of the most misunderstood talent themes, simply because it is confused with mere speaking or talking. If you understand what it is exactly, you can manage it well.
Communication is not the mere skill of teaching, preaching or public speaking. Communication is also not simply the tendency to talk a lot. The talent of Communication can better be understood by "verbal, or image-like processing". This means that your need to communicate through this talent is mostly as much for your own benefit as it is for those of others. When you verbalize, write, paint or compose, you process your thoughts. You can teach someone the skill to communicate well. But your talent needs management and development, through a specific skill. A better word to describe this talent, in my opinion, is the word "Expression". You have the need to express yourself. If managed and developed by adding knowledge, skill and experience, you become someone who express your ideas, feelings or knowledge in an exceptional manner. But, if mismanaged, your expression can be reduced to mere "rambling".
Communication is not the mere skill of teaching, preaching or public speaking. Communication is also not simply the tendency to talk a lot. The talent of Communication can better be understood by "verbal, or image-like processing". This means that your need to communicate through this talent is mostly as much for your own benefit as it is for those of others. When you verbalize, write, paint or compose, you process your thoughts. You can teach someone the skill to communicate well. But your talent needs management and development, through a specific skill. A better word to describe this talent, in my opinion, is the word "Expression". You have the need to express yourself. If managed and developed by adding knowledge, skill and experience, you become someone who express your ideas, feelings or knowledge in an exceptional manner. But, if mismanaged, your expression can be reduced to mere "rambling".
How?
Your Communication talent and the need for expression absolutely need to be linked to a skill and a "platform" of sorts. You need space to let your expression flow, to let it out. This also require skill. Speaking is and art. So is forms of expression like painting, drawing, writing to photography and filming. Make an intentional effort to acquire skills which fits your way of flowing in this talent. Polish the medium through which you choose to communicate best. Gain experience. And, just as important, find a platform. Somewhere to share your expression. This need not be professional....but could just as well be, and make for a strength that boost a career.
Your need to express your thoughts - especially when it is verbal expression - is often linked to your need to process. Where a talent like Intellection process thoughts inwardly, Communication tend to do it outwardly. This, if not managed well, could become a detriment.
Communication is a talent that can cause a very specific characteristic. You talk a lot. According to some - and maybe according to yourself also - you talk too much. This is exactly because you say not only what you think, but you talk when you think. You not only love to debrief and to soundboard...you actually need to do it. If it is not in the moment, it will be with friends or family afterwards. Telling them about everything that happened after the fact - in details - in order for yourself to process it, is very normal for you. But, especially in the workplace, you need to manage this well....for obvious reasons.
Communication is a talent that can cause a very specific characteristic. You talk a lot. According to some - and maybe according to yourself also - you talk too much. This is exactly because you say not only what you think, but you talk when you think. You not only love to debrief and to soundboard...you actually need to do it. If it is not in the moment, it will be with friends or family afterwards. Telling them about everything that happened after the fact - in details - in order for yourself to process it, is very normal for you. But, especially in the workplace, you need to manage this well....for obvious reasons.
How?
First of all, be aware of the fact that what you regard as normal when it comes to talking and the need to talk, is for most others overwhelming. They do not have the same need as you do. Also, be aware that there are people who are drained when having to listen to your thoughts. Not everyone are good listeners.
In the workplace, your talking should be limited - most of all in an open plan environment. Some people need silence in order to do their work. Be aware of this and accommodate it. I am not suggesting you "switch off your talent", as you should not, and cannot. But, every talent does have a "volume knob", where you can turn it down. In your case it means sometimes literally turning the volume down!
Also, be sure you have people and times where you can let your talent flow - especially when this talent plays out verbally.
Now, go and express yourself!!!
- by Dries Lombaard, Director of Strategic Engagement at the Strengths Institute SA.
Important note when reading this: in this series, I simply focus on the specific talent in isolation. I do not take the crucial element of Talent Dynamics (two or more talent themes combining) into consideration. This is very important as any Coach should take that into consideration when coaching people in their talents. But you need to understand the challenges that the talent theme on its own might hold. Therefor the challenges in managing the talent as explained below might not be applicable to everyone, as the dynamics with some of their other talent themes might override the specific challenge and "make up for it". But, knowledge of the most common management challenges in every talent theme still is crucial in talent development and when turning the talent into a strength. All information is my own, acquired by years of Strengths Coaching experience, and not verified or scientifically tested by Gallup. The definition at the beginning is the intellectual property of Gallup, and well researched.