Communication Styles in the Workplace: Understanding the Analytical Communication Style

Just like our personalities, we each have our way of communicating, especially in the workplace where we must collaborate with so many people. Understanding our communication style and that of our colleagues and clients can be a great help as it enables us to boost productivity, have better working relationships, and reduce work-related stress. This article is about one style – namely, an analytical communication style.

In trying to help understand the different communication dynamics in the workplace, Mark Murphy, who is a leading leadership coach and author came up with the following four types of communication. These are namely:

• Analytical
• Intuitive
• Functional
• Personal

His work further stresses that no communication style is better than the other. Though all of them have different characteristics in how people employ them, they are all equally important to have in an organization. Teams can look at projects and situations from diverse perspectives if everyone is allowed to communicate in the way that suits them best.

For this article, we will focus on the analytical communication style. We will describe their main characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses and how to properly work with an analytical communicator if you are not one.

Main characteristics of an analytical communication style

Judging from the name, we can already see that this is someone whose communication style is geared toward analysis. Below are some key characteristics:

Data-driven

When they have a point to communicate or a stance to advocate for, they rely strictly on empirical, undisputed data. This means their presentations will include statistics and research-based information. They do not entertain hypotheticals; for them, numbers and proven patterns don’t lie.

Logical

Analytical communicators work best with information that is logical and factual. They will not rely on feelings, personal opinions, intuition, or optimistic thinking when presenting ideas. This makes their information reliable as it is devoid of bias, they rely on cold hard facts that cannot be argued against.

Structure oriented

Analytical communicators work best with clearly defined tasks and a clear structure from start to finish. Their communication is structured and planned. They struggle with spontaneity.

Pay attention to detail

When working in a team, they are the ones who pay attention to detail and catch mistakes others might not. They can comb through large amounts of data and make sense of it all.

Prefer working alone

Analytical communicators are usually reserved and prefer to be given space to work alone and focus on the task at hand as they require a lot of concentration.

How to work with someone who has an analytical communication style

For analytical communicators to thrive in a workplace environment, they need to be given space and resources to work independently. They are not good at being micro-managed. Teammates must trust them to do their job and deliver in the time set for them. Communication of expectations, deadlines, objectives, and desired outcomes for any project must be done clearly and in detail.

Analytical communicators take time to process data and information. If working together in a team, do not push for immediate feedback or thoughts. Allow them the time to look at the data and formulate their opinions in due time. They might seem reserved in meetings or planning sessions but do not interpret it as a lack of interest; they are absorbing information for later analysis.

Analytical communicators will ask many questions to feel like they are equipped to do their job. As much as possible, provide them with the answers they might need or direct them to where answers to their question will be found. As a way of seeking clarification and gathering enough information to solve complex problems, they will constantly ask questions they feel direct them to a deeper understanding.

Of equal importance, please note that analytical communicators are not the ones you force into being social butterflies. They sometimes struggle with expressing emotions and social situations that would require them to understand and interpret emotions for communication.

As part of a team, analytical communicators bring objectivity and great problem-solving abilities as emotions or opinions do not sway them. They will be invaluable when working on projects that require an unbiased solution. They, however, sometimes struggle to be relatable and accommodating, especially in situations that don’t just require logic. They can unfortunately come across as cold and callous.

Next steps

If you are an analytical communicator and would like to know how to get more out of your natural communication style, reach out to our office. At Newbury Park Christian Counseling, we can help you to understand your strengths and how to harness them in your workplace. We can also help by giving you tools to manage the spaces where it can bring misunderstanding and conflict.