The Art of Speed Reading People: How to Size People Up and Speak Their Language

by Barbara Barron-Tieger and Paul D. Tieger

Book Overview

In business & in life, communication is the key tto success. And, as made clear in this book, learning to use the power of Personality Type is the key to communicating more effectively. Now in the same successful format as the bestsellers Do What You Are & Nurture by Nature, The Art of Speed Reading People offers a revolutionary new tool for sizing up people & speaking their language. A salesperson pitching a customer. A manager trying to motivate...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316845183
• ISBN13: 9780316845182
• Release Date: February 1999
• Publisher: Little Brown and Company
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 7.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Speedy Myers Briggs

I actually really enjoyed this book. It is very much all about breaking down the Myers Briggs personalities (ISTP, ENFJ, etc), but it talks about getting to know people and being able to recognize clues in order to best communicate and work with others. I really appreciate the goals of this book, as I believe that we should all learn how to adjust to one another, especially to be able to communicate with others!, I just found it really practical and the writing is easy to read and casual.

Very Insightful For Understanding How People Communicate

I have used MBTI at work and found it to be useful. I came across this book when I was looking for something to add to the basic knowledge that I had. Don't worry though, the first two chapters go over the basics. If you are not familiar with MBTI, this will get you started. If you are familiar with it, it serves as a good review. Then the heart of the book takes you through three tools for identifying peoples preferences: type preference as a whole, temperament, and extraverted/introverted feeling. After putting all of these together, the authors present you with some case studies where you use the various techniques to try to identify the types of the people involved. They are simple but useful. The book closes with some detailed advice for interacting with the four different temperaments in general and then specifically the four individual type preferences within a given temperaments. The final chapter is titled "How Will I Ever Look at People the Same Way Again?" Truthfully, you won't. You will notice things about people, and hopefully these things will help you improve your interactions with the people you come in contact with.

Funny, enlightening and overall worth reading

He describes the four basic components of personality---extrovert/introvert, sensor/intuitive, thinker/feeler and judger/perciever. He then describes them further in depth so that you can figure out which one you are. Then it explains temperment based on the combinations of personality charachteristics. The next few chapters are devoted to being able to put all this together so that you can spot the different personality types. In the final section, there are actual exercises to "test" yourself and to sharpen your skills.There are numerous examples of what to look for to guess what charachteristic best fits a person. There are also very short examples to be able to test out, just in casual conversation, with co-workers/friends. This is a great book and fun to read/do the exercises to try out your new gained insight. This book will certainly not make you a personality expert but it will help you appreciate the differences and gain tolerance. It was also fun to discover that the "quirks" in my personality are actually quite common...like, my car is always messy no matter what, and that is indicative of a "perciever". It was also fun to do some of the exercises on my friends...like having them give me directions. This is a clue to determine if the person is a "thinker or feeler". I recommend this book! Fun, fun, fun!

Most useful Myers Briggs book I own

This book not only describes the different types, it gives the reader tips on how to recognize these different types, and then helps you learn the best way of dealing with people based on their type.This book does not suggest that we should manipulate others. It simply makes the point that all people are different, and it is important to try to communicate with others in a way that makes sense to them. If a listener can't understand the message you are trying to send, they argue, then you have conflict and miscommunication. Such a scenario does not benefit anyone. The first part of the book helps the reader identify their own type. This is done through a very thorough discussion of the differences in each pair of letters (E/I, S/N, T/F, and J/P), including excellent examples. This is the first Myers Briggs book I have read that allowed me to unequivocably determine my own type. The book then has descriptions of the sixteen types, as well as a discussion of temperment. I found the descriptions of the sixteen types a bit sparse, but the discussion of temperment was the best I have read. I normally find the discussion of temperment and lead functions to be the best, most easy to understand description I have ever read. The sections on how to identify other people's type and keys to effectively communicating with each type were the high points of the. The authors give readers a number of exercises to practice and develop the skills they are teaching. These exercises really add to the book. The tips on communication all make sense and are easy to implement. This book is almost guaranteed to help you improve your communication skills. I highly reccommend it.

The title is questionable; the book is excellent

I'm a nineteen year old student who's been interested in Myers-Briggs personality type for several years, and this is one of the most interesting and readable books there is. It's got the best, most accurate profiles of the 16 personality types that I've ever found. To respond to the previous review: I agree that the title of the book, and even the introduction make the book sound like it teaches manipulation. But it does not. Flip past the first few pages, and it will teach you to understand where other people are coming from. I've found personality typing really does help me to have more compassion and patience with people who are different from me. This book teaches some personality theory, but focuses more on putting it into practice. It's very understandable and I highly recommend it, especially for people who are looking for an introduction to personality types.