It is important to understand that we live in a world of unique individuals. Now knowing this how are we truly different? There are four basic temperaments and of those four we find sixteen personality types. Understanding and mastering your own temperament can be the key to your success both in achieving your goals and in communicating with others. It is imperative that you realize to understand the other types. This does not mean you use your temperament to control or manipulate but to create harmonious relationships.

There are many books out there on Temperament, Personality Types, and Colour Codes. If you truly want to know how to communicate with others then as the saying goes "know thyself". Studying yourself is the surest way to get to know others as you will relate to them knowing who you are when in any given situation. Once you get to know yourself and understand your own personality the next step is look at their personality types and how you should relate to each.

So where to start? Well first, as I said, know yourself. This is not an easy task for how do we go about learning what we were born with. No matter your age you should be able to ascertain what your personality is by taking some simple test. These tests have been provided by such people as Dr. Taylor Harman (The Color Code), Dr. Kiersey (Please Understand Me II), and one of the more famous the Myers Briggs Type Indicator by Isabel Myers and Katheryn Briggs. If you have not taken any of these tests I strongly urge you to do so if you want to improve your communication skills.

Nobody grows their business without developing relationships, good relationships of trust and honesty. If you do not know yourself then how can you expect to know others and how they will relate to you so that both benefit? Once you have discovered your own personality it is a simple step to see how others perceive you and why they either like you or avoid you. This is because they are always different from you; remember we are all unique!

So now you know who you are. Next step is to look at the other personality types and discover how they differ from your own. How does this help? Well, say you are taking with someone and you notice their personality type. You can adjust your conversation to include what they are interested in hearing not what you have to say. This is where listening outscores talking. This may sound like an overwhelming task but it will pay huge dividends. Mastering your own temperament can be the key to your success. Knowing others will enable you to open many locks with your key.