Do you feel that you have a hard time knowing how to appeal to your audience?  Or maybe you feel that your audience is differing so you can't really pin point their personalities?

Whatever the reason, understand that we as humans are inherently and genetically different and we all think differently. When we understand the people around us, we become more effective podcasters and influencers.

What Are Personality Types?

Personality type by definition is the psychological classification of different individuals with specific behavioral tendencies. Organizational and industrial psychologists use science to study human behavior in the workplace. Using the tests these psychologists set up to your advantage with podcasting is a great way to grow audience and appeal. Understand who you are trying to appeal to and knowing your audience can make the difference between success and failure.

Now that you know that these personalities can actually be measured, let’s take a look at some personality types. Some of you may be familiar with the Meyers-Briggs personality indicator, which has 16 different personality types — we'll be discussing four personality types that has divided people into.

Four Personality Types

• The Free Spirit – Energetic, funny, loud, enthusiastic, extroverts who love speaking to people. They are best at networking and socializing. They are also unorganized, forgiving, and easily distracted. They are innovative, full of ideas, creative, and tend to work fast.

• The Task – Just as the title says it, they crave peace and order. They are easy going, patient, diplomatic – always avoiding confrontation with others. They are very grounded, and are emotionally stable. They balance out companies who are on the move or fast-paced, and are best at building a working team.

• The Leaders – Authoritative presence, productive, decisive, take control, do not give up easily, internally strong, get to the point, work hard and accomplishing their many goals.

• The People – They value verbal communication and communication skills. Easily can become the face of the company and appeal to a large crowd. Not afraid of the big stage and being involved in large social landscapes. Often value others over themselves, however are very determined and remain driven.

In order to run a successful and engaging podcast, all personality types should be considered. Each one utilizes different strengths and weaknesses and should be valued consistently. Some of us offer insight, such as the Task types, and some offer analysis, planning, and critical thinking, such as the Leaders.

How to Appeal to Each Personality Type

• Free Spirit typically want fondness, attention, and approval.
• Leaders typically want credit, loyalty, and appreciation.
• Task typically want quiet, space to work alone, and sensitivity.
• People typically want respect, value, and harmony between people in the workplace.

In Dr. Laurie Helgoe’s book, Introvert Power: Why Your Inner Life Is Your Hidden Strength, she demonstrates that an introverted personality enjoys speaking in depth. Introverts find this stimulating and glorifying. Instead of small talk, try sparking a conversation that isn’t about the weather. Introverts do not like the “barrier” that small talk creates between people, and would like to know about you as person rather than the weather.

Free Spirits, or extroverts, are the opposite of Task Oriented, and like to be surrounded by people. People types generally feel very comfortable making direct eye contact when speaking to someone. Extroverts also like to feel they are part of the team, and that their hard work is not going unnoticed. Extroverts love socializing, and letting them have social freedom during work hours helps them with prioritizing and productivity.

Again, extroversion and introversion are very different. They follow a continuum rule — if you’re high in one, it usually means you are low in the other. Anyone who feels they are a mixture of both introversion and extroversion is called an ambivert. Ambiverts equally favor all elements of introverts and extroverts, such as solitude and socializing.

Start by Knowing Your Personality Type

When you understand what personality type you are, you can understand yourself and what communication styles are most effective for you. And when we understand our audiences personalities, we can work better with them, develop closer relationships, and create a friendlier, more influential podcasting channel.

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