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

by Paul D. Tieger (Author), Barbara Barron-Tieger (Author) "Rob and Stephanie are both marketing representatives for competing health maintenance organizations (HMOs)..." (more)
Key Phrases: preferred communication style, communication recommendations, sixteen types, Introvert Feeling, Perceiving Estimated, Does Jane (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Do you communicate ineffectively with some people and powerfully with others? The reason may be a difference in personalities and communication preferences. The Art of Speedreading People is a crash course in communication strategies, showing you how to observe behavioral clues to gain valuable insights into people's personalities and communication styles. The result: you become a more effective and convincing communicator, and you are more likely to receive the response you want.

This book is like a practical communications seminar based on the psychology model called Personality Typing, which is focused on identifying key personality traits in order to communicate most effectively. First, you analyze your own personality type and determine your placement on the scales of extrovert/introvert, sensor/intuitive, thinking/feeling, and judging/perceiving. The book then teaches you about the clues that indicate other people's personality type, including speaking style, body language, and occupation. You test yourself by reading a few scenarios and personality typing the characters described. You put the system to work by learning approaches to "speedreading" people in person and on the phone using skill-building exercises. Finally, you learn how to communicate effectively with people who are a different type or temperament than you. The Art of Speedreading People is intriguing and useful, especially for those who work in a sales, service, teaching, or managerial position, or any job where effective and positive communication is paramount. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
The authors have taken a well-respected aspect of psychology called "personality typing" and devised the art of "speed reading" people as a powerful tool for quickly and accurately identifying key personality traits for effective communication. The book also serves as an infomercial for the authors' consulting practice. Tieger and Barron-Tieger aim to accurately identify key characteristics of personality that are present in all people, through understanding how people are energized, what kind of information they naturally notice and remember, how they make decisions, and how they organize the world around them. The first section of the book is devoted to the underlying principles of personality type, the second section addresses communicating with people in their favorite style, and the final section deals with understanding and appreciating the subtleties and preferred communication styles of the 16 types identified by the concept of personality type. Although some readers may not agree with all of the authors' views, this book provides useful insight into the ongoing challenge of effective communication. Mary Whaley --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1st Little, Brown Pbk. Ed edition (February 25, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316845183
• ISBN-13: 978-0316845182
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,164 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #33 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Psychology & Counseling > Personality
  #45 in	Books > Business & Investing > Skills > Communications
  #55 in	Books > Business & Investing > Business Life

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy Getting Started Guide to the 16 MBTI Personality Types, December 4, 2002

By	D. Bodenheimer (California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have read a great number of books on the 16 MBTI personality types, and I have investigated scores of websites to really find out all I can about understanding people and their personalities. This book, by far, is the easiest guide to the MBTI. I highly recommend it both to people new to MBTI, and to those who have a fairly good understanding of the 16 types.

This book is simple and easy to understand, and has some really great real-world examples that are wonderful. The "How To Speak" sections are fun and make perfect sense.

Other books on the MBTI are really complicated and seem to require a Master's degree in psychology in order to really get the most out of them.

This book will help you understand the people in your life, and make you realize that everyone is different, and that everyone sees things from a different perspective. But that isn't the best part... it tells you HOW they see things and HOW best to interact with them.

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Insightful For Understanding How People Communicate, March 7, 2005

By	P. Heath (Hurst, TX United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The title is questionable; the book is excellent, October 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Art of Speedreading People: Harness the Power of Personality Type and Create What You Want in Business and in Life (Hardcover)

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.