The Complete Guide to Expressive Social Style

The Expressive style is marked by enthusiasm, the ability to change, and a fast pace. The Expressive-style person seems to be involved, focused on the future, thinking broadly, a good driver, and straight and open no matter what. People with an expressive style like to solve problems as a group; when they do, they like to be in the center.

Expressives are the big-picture thinkers of a company and are good at seeing the big picture. Most expressive people want to work in marketing and try to move up in an organization. They are the "politicians" of an organization because they make and use a lot of contacts.

• Skills: If you need to develop new ideas, a creative writer can help. Their ability to judge a situation based on their experiences can help them develop creative ideas that others might not have thought of.
• Be careful: Because they are so sure of their "gut feelings," they may ignore or forget the facts. Their carelessness with details can be a problem.
• Most impressive: Be interested in what they say and compliment them, even if you're not sure they deserve it.

There is no best way to act, and not even your style matters. What's important is to understand how other people act so that you can deal with them well.

Assertive, Outspoken, Opinionated

People with an expressive style are seen as confident, outgoing, and creative. They are often intuitive and put a lot of emphasis on working with others to reach their goals.

Impactful, Strong

Expressive-style People do their best work in places that are busy and interesting. They tend to work on big projects that get a lot of attention. People usually like how open and socially involved they are in any job they take on. They can get overly emotional and play to the crowd too often. The Expressive style makes a big impression and usually gets a strong reaction from most people.

Active, clever, and resourceful

The Expressive leadership style is known for being active, clever, and creative. People with an expressive style are very good at getting their coworkers to back a job. They help each other out and work together, especially when their goal is at stake. They are great at making links between events, people, and situations, and they quickly and excitedly share their thoughts. However, people with an expressive style can lose interest in a job quickly if it no longer interests them.

No Routine, Lots of Attention

Leadership is based on impact and persuasion, not rank, power, or tight rules. The Expressive style's importance on inspiration and reasoning is one of its most important parts. But a lot of the time, to get noticed and move up, they will focus on jobs that get a lot of attention and ignore the regular work.

Impatient

People with an expressive style like to be in charge of a group whenever possible. On the other hand, people who are outgoing and talk a lot may be seen as restless and unfair when they are in a hurry or when others don't agree with them or don't like their ideas and pace.

Strengths of Expressive-Style People

• They have a lot of energy and are eager to start new projects or ideas.
• They are quick to share knowledge and enjoy lively conversation.
• They look at events and problems and watch the big picture.

Liabilities of Expressive-Style People

• They can be very impatient, especially with people who think too much and don't move at their desired pace.
• They care less about specifics.
• So they can get noticed and move up, they focus on tasks that get a lot of attention, sometimes to the exclusion of everyday tasks.

How to sell to people who have expressive traits

People with this personality type are also sometimes called "humanists." This is because, like Amiables, they value personal ties a lot. Expressives tend to make choices based on how they feel and are often worried about the well-being of others.

The open personality type will want to know how their choices affect the people around them, whether it's their workers or customers. They usually try to make everyone happy, but don't be fooled. Expressives often have strong personalities and use them to persuade others of their strong beliefs.

Expressives are artistic, open, and spontaneous, and they trust their gut. Respect, trust, and friendship are important to them. Don't make Expressives promises you can't keep. If you break a promise, it could mean the end of your friendship.

Expressive people tend to be very happy and colorful. Like Amiables, they want to connect with you on a human level. However, like Assertives, they are sure of their beliefs and tend to comment instead of asking questions.

• Present case studies. Expressives want to know that you're looking out for them, and there's no better way to show that than by telling stories about how your business has helped other people.
• Focus on a long-term friendship. Now is the time to shout from the hills if your company has great customer service or keeps long-term client relationships.
• Don't get too caught up in facts and numbers. Data is important, but in the end, a buyer will want to know how their choice to buy affects their business in a real way.
• Make short summaries as you go. You want to keep getting their agreement, so ask questions like, "So, we all agree that you can use Templates to automate the prospecting process?"

Expressive personality traits

If your main personality type is "Expressive," here are some places to look for your inner strengths and ways you might be holding yourself back: Expressives tend to be a bit naive and not take themselves too seriously, which can lead to a carefree attitude.

They might not realize they have flaws or think their flaws are bad enough to make them change. Expressives are always happy and upbeat and great at making friends and giving people ideas. Their bright and exciting positivity can catch people's attention and inspire them.

They are great at getting people excited and moving forward and are often colorful and artistic. They are good at making anything funny and making people laugh. They want to be liked more than anything else. For Expressiveness, praise and what others think is more important than anything else.

They look for praise and thrive on it, making them feel hopeless and upset when they don't get it. This can make it hard for Expressives to make good choices and get along with other people. They do best in jobs and activities that put them in the spotlight, where they can talk to people and use their imagination to develop new ideas.

An eager Expressive often doesn't do what they say they will do. They often get excited about a new job but lose interest halfway through because they get bored, it gets hard, they're not organized, or they're too young to finish it. They also have little patience and will charge ahead without planning or thinking much about what might happen.

They also tend to forget things and not pay attention. This comes from putting yourself first. They often get so caught up in their colorful stories that they would rather talk than listen. This makes it hard for them to pay attention to details and remember important things, like other people's names.

Expressive people can talk too much. They often talk over other people and have trouble listening to what they have to say. They also don't like being alone and have to talk a lot to fill the quiet.

How to Benefit from Expressives:

• Realize that your imagination and energy are your skills, and get other people to help you plan and carry out your plans.
• Know that you'll likely lose interest when things get hard or boring, and plan accordingly. Get a partner to hold you accountable, or give yourself a prize when you've finished half of a job.
• Know you are attractive, but don't feel you must talk constantly. Give other people a chance to talk, and you might learn something.
• Focus is not your strong suit, and because of that, details and facts suffer. Try your best to write things down and say them out loud.
• Your strengths are charm and confidence, and you need to be noticed. Don't get a job or go into a field that needs you to be quiet, careful, or work alone.
• Get help! You hate making plans and paying attention to details, so have someone else do them.

How I'm bringing this to my own life

In writing this series about the four personality types, I've reflected on some of the things I learned from my personality test. I am a Driver/Expressive, which means I have all of the Driver's flaws, especially the ones that make me pushy and bossy. It never feels good to check those boxes, but I must tell myself how far I have come.

Before I did all this personality work in my 20s, many friends would have called me bossy. I don't think that's one of the three best ways they could describe me, but it's still a change, and I'm fine with that! I've also noticed that I don't have as much patience as I used to, which can lead to mistakes.

I need to find a stickler to review my website and business to help me stay organized, on track, and on point. The last thing this deep dive has made me think about is ensuring I'm going in the right direction. In my past life, I had a very boring job that forced me to pay close attention to details and made me feel very alone.

I liked science and liked that part, but it didn't fit with what I was good at. Now I see I was meant to be a Life Coach and a skilled butt-kicker. I mean, come on, I get to encourage, excite, and push great women to be their Gutsiest selves. If this piece has done anything for you, I hope it has helped you see the incredible individual you are and what gifts you have that you can share with the world.