With more than 6 billion people in the world, it’s pretty incredible to think that there are only 16 distinct major personality types. 

According to 16Personalities, an incredibly accurate (in our opinion) and free personality test website, there are a lot of factors that make up someone’s personality. 

So what do personalities have to do with PR? A lot!Understanding your clients, coworkers and even audiences’ personalities can have a huge impact on how we interact with others, achieve success and build meaningful connections.

After all, we’re all about making connections in this business, aren’t we?

Continue reading to learn more.

16 Personalities

The 16 Personalities theory combines the latest advances in research, with traditional concepts from Carl Gustav Jung and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® to produce a profile of who you are and how you interact with others.

It essentially describes the common factors that make you tick.

Each personality is dived into four major categories of similar traits: Analysts, Diplomats, Sentinels and Explorers. Each personality under the four umbrella categories is assigned four letters that further indicate what factors make you who you are.

According to the site “There were four possible pairs of personality traits: Introversion (I) or Extraversion (E); Intuition (N) or Sensing (S); Thinking (T) or Feeling (F); Judging (J) or Perceiving (P).”

When combined, these four letters carry a ton of valuable information that can help you understand a variety of things — from how you value friendships to what kinds of careers you’ll purse.
(And it’s no surprise that the Garden Media office is filled with Sentinels and Diplomats!)

Personalities and PR 

Every public relations professional knows that the ability to build meaningful and genuine relationships is the cornerstone to success – no matter what project. While it’s impossible to ask everyone you come in contact with you complete a personality test, there are things PR pros can do build strong relationships and produce amazing results.

Brands can’t build a loyal following if they don’t understand their consumers’ needs. Firms can’t establish trust between their clients if they don’t get a glimpse into how they operate and have regular contact with the team.

Public relations professionals will never build trust with media if they don’t fully understand the scope of a journalist’s responsibilities in the modern age.

Taking time to research target audiences, setting up frequent meetings with clients and responding to media requests in a timely manner will get you one step closer to establishing trust every time.

So the next time you start working with a new client or reporter take the time to understand their background and personality – it will make you more successful!

When it comes to building brands, trust is key. Read our eBook to learn how we helped Espoma gain loyal followers on social!