learn the disc-o dance

Read time: 3.5 minutes

happy labor day friends!

we’re talking about talking today.

we all know communication is critical to connection. but it’s so much more than our words. as so beautifully illustrated here:

talk so rarely does all the talking.

there is always more.

which is why a tool like DISC is so powerful. DISC is a way of walking in someone else’s shoes to feel how they experience the world.

are they rocking dominant stilettos, influential sneakers, steady slippers, or compliant work boots?

last week you learned the theory & stats behind DISC. this week you’re getting an alternative, applications, & analogies.

disco rewind

if you missed last week’s newsletter introducing DISC or need a quick refresher, here’s a quick tl;dr

• DISC is a behavioral self-assessment tool (quiz here)

• reveals the how & why a person does what they do.

• DISC is an acronym with corresponding colors

  • 🔴 Dominant = red

  • 🟡 Influential = yellow

  • 🟢 Steady = green

  • 🔵 Compliant = blue

• most commonly shown as a circle like this:

  

• most common attributes are this:

  

DISC helps us better understand how we are different. this then helps us better communicate with others, based on their primary behavior styles.

by learning to quadrilingually speak, we increase the odds our intended message comes across clear to our friends, families, partners, & coworkers.

seeing & reading rainbow

before we dive into the fun stuff, i wanted to share how i discovered this tool.

i first learned about a different tool called insights discovery at a corproate workshop. it was love at first sight & i’ve been singing the gospel ever since which lead me to DISC.

DISC is more behavioral, widely available, & much lighter touch.

insights discovery is more holistic, kinda exclusive, & much deeper touch.

insights discovery requires a longer online assessment. then you're given a 20 page profile that speaks your truths in a profound, hard hitting way. like a therapist that really gets what makes you you.

unlike the DISC, insights discovery talks more about the intersections of the colors. they use 8 different “positions” instead of just 4.

this more accurately paints the nuances of the individuals as we are very rarely one color energy only:

80% of people are 2 colors.
15% are 3 colors.
only 5% are 1 color.

the final two key differences from DISC:

1) insights discovery is credited to carl jung, the infamous psychiatrist who founded analytical psychology & unveiled our collective unconscious.

2) the insights discovery test can only be administered by one company. for of course, a pretty penny. which explains why it’s most commonly a corporate workshop.

that being said, it’s definitely worth the investment for you & your team. i plan to use this with every team i work with going forward.

i took the workshop almost 5 years ago & i’m still thinking about it! can’t imagine a better roi for a corporate training.

temperaments translated

for a timeless take on DISC, we can map it to the 4 temperaments according to hippocrates. he believed we’re born with personality traits that cause us to do what we do.

if you don’t know what these words mean, don’t worry about it, just focus on the emoji & skip to the next more relatable examples.

honey pots & personalities

for a nostalgic take, we can mesh DISC with our beloved hundred acre crew.

the sorting hat speaks disc

and now let’s sprinkle in some wizardry, matching DISC to hogwarts houses. house colors may not match, but behaviors do!

putting it all together now

with these examples, you’ll probably start seeing this balance of behaviors everywhere, but especially in tv series:

• star wars: 🔴 darth vader 🟡 han solo 🟢 luke 🔵 c-3po

• sex & the city: 🔴 samantha 🟡 carrie 🟢 miranda 🔵 charlotte

• toy story: 🔴 buzz 🟡 woody 🟢 rex 🔵 mrs. potato head

• seinfeld: 🔴 jerry 🟡 kramer 🟢 elaine 🔵 george

these tv characters & stories resonate with us because they reflect our own personalities AND the personalities of the people we interact with daily.

we see ourselves in them.

& we love that.

so next time you’re binge-watching one of these, pay attention to how the different behaviors do or don’t communicate effectively with each other.

then start applying it in your daily life.

moments for merrymaking

P.S. checkout my newest DISC colored stationery sets on etsy 🤩 as well as several other sets with glittery goodness.

p.p.s. whenever you need help, i’m always here for you from custom cards to corporate workshops to our merry membership. i want to make you merry!