People with the Analytical CliftonStrengths (StrengthsFinder) talent theme are possibly one of the toughest audiences you’ll ever have.
Tell them a simple story about The Three Little Pigs, and they will be asking questions like “How can the house of sticks get blown in with just one breath?” or “Why didn’t the pigs stay together in one big house?” or “What did the pigs plan to do to seek out their fortunes in the first place?!”
If you observe carefully, you will notice that Analytical people are always seeking to boil everything down to its essence, to identify the roots amongst the weeds. They tend to ask a lot of “Why did this happen?” or “How did that begin in the first place?”
You will notice that a casual conversation can turn into a pretty intense Google research session. A light discussion over lunch about how delicious eggs are can lead to the discovery of how many eggs a chicken can lay, why there is only one rooster in most farms, or why it is obvious that the egg came before the chicken! … Or that the chicken came before the egg? Hmm…
It is uncommon for Analytical people to believe or support your ideas and claims without helpful data.
To get their attention, remember to bring along helpful facts and evidences before seeking their expert opinion.
Once you do get their attention, you may realise that sharing your project ideas with them can sometimes be quite daunting. They can slowly surface one, two, three or even more loopholes you may have overlooked!
On the other hand, if finding potential loopholes in your project is exactly what you want, talking to an Analytical person may just be the best thing to do. Just remember that they are not trying to destroy your ideas, so don’t be too discouraged! They only want your theories to be sound.
So are you ready for the cold hard truth? We know the Analytical people definitely are – ready to hear it, AND ready to give it!
StrengthsAsia has helped many individual and corporate clients all throughout the region in identifying and maximizing their talents, in driving engagement and increasing motivation in their work and life.
If you want to learn more about the 34 talent themes or discover how you can apply your talent themes in the areas of your work and your life, feel free to reach out to us here.
Aly is StrengthsAsia’s marketing and communications guru and lead editor. She's over the top inquisitive and everyone in the company knows her as “The Googler” as she practically googles everything. Honestly, we all worry for her… She is also the Principal Trainer for our one of a kind ice cream team building workshops in Asia.