At work: You work best independently on projects that you design for yourself. You need the time and space to focus on intellectual challenges, and to think things through. When you have the opportunity to envision and invent new approaches that improve the way your business operates, you contribute your best. You are an analytical, creative innovator and ingenious problem-solver. If you must work with others constantly, follow all of the directions proscribed by others, and never have the opportunity to invent new ways of doing things, it causes you deep frustration.

At school: You like to figure things out by yourself, and you enjoy setting intellectual and creative chal- lenges for yourself. You like to learn as much as you possibly can in your areas of interest, and are easily bored by information that you don’t find useful, especially if it’s taught in ways that don’t inspire your intellect and imagination. You prefer to learn about “the big picture” of any topic, viewed from all sides, so that you can build a foundation for your own ideas. Information provided in constant step-by- step learning, with no room for conjecture or creative invention, causes boredom and stress. And because the learning context is so important for your self-esteem, boredom eventually equals actual humiliation.

With family and friends: You like to spend time by yourself just thinking, reading, working, or studying. You like a lot of space, time, and privacy. You enjoy discussions where you can learn or teach something new and interesting. You enjoy philosophical and theoretical discussion of ideas, history, science, literature, and other matters you’ve studied or thought about. A lack of sufficient private time causes stress, because you need time alone to think. Too much small talk is also trying, because you need to use your mind in or- der to feel good.

With your Partner: Your antennas are always up, sensitive to every context that you and your Partner find yourselves in. That’s why public displays of affection aren’t your thing. No matter what you’re doing with your Partner, you are interested in intellectual expansion. You love quiet time alone together, exploring ideas. You may sometimes seem aloof, although your feelings run as deep as anyone else’s.

Communication Style Objective and Strategic

When communicating, Greens tend to reflect upon a conversation before responding. They like to analyze what they have just heard, explore the many ways they could respond, and choose the reply that most accurately and pertinently expresses their thoughts on the mater. Their goal is to obtain information so they can figure out, fix, improve, or invent something as a result.

Greens for the most part, communicate for the purpose of gaining or sharing information. During a conversation, their attention is usually focused on the mater at hand, not on the relationship.

Green Personality Style

• Logical and objective
• Includes facts and information
• Big picture, conceptual
• Questioning, critiquing
• Wry sense of humor

Green Communication Style

In conversation, the Green Communication Style naturally tracks the following aspects:

• Can we fix a problem or improve something?
• Is there something here that can be expanded and lead to new ideas?
• Is there knowledge to be gained from this topic?
• Are we speaking objectively, are the things being discussed factual?

Tips for Communicating with Greens

• Skip the “small talk”
• Avoid redundancy
• Give big picture or point first, then fill in details
• Allow them time to think before responding
• Don’t misinterpret their inquiry as interrogation