AI as Personal Communication Coach
Ben • May 11, 2024

Your professional and personal life is built on relationships. Whether you’re building trust with clients, managing a team, or having difficult discussions, the ability to connect and communicate effectively is important to success. Generative AI, like ChatGPT, can be a powerful partner and consultant. Leveraging common personality tests to help you improve your communication style and tailor your approach to different individuals will make you a more effective leader while helping your career grow.

Using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve your communication is easy with basic prompting and a desire to really connect with others. In some cases, AI will help you solve problems, and in others it will act as a sounding board to help you refine your approach. 

Understanding Personality with AI

One of the most powerful applications of AI is its ability to understand and interpret common personality indexes like StrengthsFinder, Myers-Briggs, DiSC, Predictive Index, and others. By analyzing these profiles, AI can provide valuable insights into how individuals think, communicate, and interact. With this knowledge, you can tailor your approach to better resonate and connect with others. However, it’s important to remember that personalities are complex. The more information you provide the AI, and the more you continue prompting, refining, and staying curious about the situation and the personalities involved, the stronger the results you’ll get.

If you’re unsure of the other person’s personality indexes, you can describe this person to AI and ask AI for a personality overview. You’ll use this first draft to help dial in your discussion with AI. If you have lengthy email or chat discussions with this person, you can upload the history and let AI put together its assessment. You’ll refine from there. 

Here’s a simple step-by-step process to leverage AI as your communication coach:

Step 1: Tell AI Your Situation

Describe the situation so AI has context. This could be anything from getting to know someone new to a performance evaluation to a situation where you need to persuade someone.

Step 2: Provide Personality Insights

Describe the other person’s personality. This will help the AI provide more tailored advice. You can often provide the basics, such as they are Myers-Briggs ENTJ.

Step 3: Tell AI What You Want to Accomplish

Clearly define what you want to achieve in the situation. The more specific you are, the more focused insights and direction AI will provide you. 

Example Prompts

Positive Situation Prompt:

I am an ENFJ manager preparing to meet a new employee described as an ISTJ. This is their first day, and I want to establish rapport, create a welcoming environment, and understand their communication preferences and work style. My goals are to clarify their role and expectations and learn about their strengths and how they prefer to contribute to a team. Given our different personality types, what are some effective strategies for me to connect with this new employee? How can I structure our conversation to make them feel comfortable and valued? What questions can I ask to uncover their strengths and preferred working style? What are potential pitfalls with our two personalities? Write an agenda for a 30 minute meeting. 

Challenging Situation Prompt:

I am a DiSC style D = 40, I = 60 manager needing to address performance concerns with a C = 25, I = 10, S = 65 employee. Their work quality has declined recently, and I need to provide constructive feedback to help them improve. My goals are to clearly communicate my concerns, understand the reasons behind the decline, offer specific feedback and suggestions, and maintain a positive relationship while encouraging them to take ownership of their development. Knowing our DISC styles, how can I best approach this conversation to ensure the employee understands my concerns without becoming defensive? What are some effective strategies for delivering constructive feedback to a “C” style personality? How can I help them create a plan for improvement while preserving their confidence? What are pitfalls I should avoid? Write me an agenda for a 15 minute meeting on this topic. 

Iterating and Refining Your Approach

Once you’ve provided the initial prompt, start chatting with the AI. You can ask for specific suggestions, role-play scenarios, or even request a draft of an email or conversation plan. The more you interact, the better the AI will understand your needs and provide tailored guidance.

Important Note:  Always use your own common sense and judgment. AI is a powerful tool, but it’s not a substitute for human intuition and experience. Think of it as a collaborator, helping you to iterate and refine your approach.

The Power of Understanding

Communication is king. It’s a performance separator and contributes to career growth and opportunities. The ability to connect with colleagues, clients, and customers on a personal level is what separates good bankers from great ones. Generative AI can be a game-changer in this respect. By helping you understand the nuances of communication, AI can equip you to tailor your message to different audiences, anticipate and address potential roadblocks, and ultimately build stronger, more productive relationships. With AI’s insights infused into a situation and personalities involved, you can deliver feedback in a way that’s clear, constructive, and motivating. 

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