How Hillary Communicates as an INTJ

I found a website, “the Complete Idiot’s Guide to INTJs” which describes in an article, “The Do’s and Don’t (mostly Don’ts)”in a clever, humorous fashion, the ways most INTJs (myself and Hillary included) communicate with others.  I thought elaborate on some of the key points mentioned as they relate to Hillary, Obama and the current political campaign.  (BTW: The Do’s and Don’t with INTJs, could also apply to Ralph Nadar, since he’s also INTJ).

 1. Never ask an INTJ a question unless you really want a truthful answer. We will not sugarcoat it for you, and we don’t tell white lies to spare anyone’s feelings.  Do you really, truthfully want to know if those jeans make your ass look fat? Normal person’s response: “Um, no, you look fine. Really.” Honest person’s response: “Well… maybe a different belt would help?” INTJ’s response: “No, it’s not the jeans that make your ass look fat; it’s your fat ass that makes your ass look fat.”

Could this explain why some people prefer Obama over Hillary?  Is it because many people prefer politics and policy issues to be discussed in a “sugarcoated”, ethereal way as opposed to a way that speaks to the heart of the matter, from a place of conviction, in a manner that conveys substance in terms of specifics over style.  Of course, it has been argued that all politicians prepare speeches that contain stylistic rhetorical references.  Many “creatively borrow” from the speeches of other politicians.  Rheotric is part of the game.  But if you listen closely to Hillary’s speech patterns, they are far less preachy and impressionistic in style than Obama’s.  (Same goes for Ralph Nadar - but if you’re not intellectual enough to follow, your eyes will glaze over).  Hillary will get specific when she needs to bring home a point.  Contrarily, Obama seems to want to avoid being too specific because he’s a ENFJ and is looking to appeal to people’s emotions.  As an ENFJ, he is highly adept at adapting his style to suit his audience (hence the appearance of manipulation).  One specific example occurred when Obama changed his accent to appeal to his black audience.  He sounded like a black, Southern preacher.  Other times, he sounds nothing like that. (BTW: Obama has acknowledged that he did this and apparently has no moral qualms with this type of communicative manipulation).  As an ENFJ, Obama is uncomfortable with conflict.  When Obama is present with Hillary and the media, his nonverbal language speaks to this fact.  He visually squirms when someone confronts him with something he doesn’t want to discuss.  Obama does not want to promote or confront conflict.  To do so would to be contrary to his personna as a man of “peace and harmony”.  It will be interesting how this aspect of his personality plays out during the rest of the campaign season.  As some political analysts have noted, Obama will need to get more specific soon else some of his supporters will turn against him.  To say that Obama’s campaign has been somewhat “shallow and superficial”, ”lacking in substance” is a valid perspective.  Hillary is smart to start to call Obama on some of his rhetorical tactics.  If Hillary can continue to hammer away at the “authenticity” factor, I think she will continue to make inroads.  She will be able to sway voters who prefer substance over style, specifically NTs, STJs (Myer-Brigg personality types). 

2. DON’T express an opinion to us unless you are prepared to back it up with sound arguments and well pedigreed facts and evidence. Otherwise do not be surprised when we logically shred your opinion for you and hand it back to you in tatters.

It’s well-recognized that Hillary is a much better debater on the issues  As an INTJ, she uses the power of logical reasoning to make her case.  And, more than likely, she’s done her homework.

3. DON’T be repetitive. We have absolutely no patience for that. There’s no need to cover old ground, and we heard you the first time, unless we were zoning out. And if we were zoning out it’s probably because you started repeating yourself.

Not sure how this applies specifically to Hillary.  But as an INTJ, I can say that we’re not the most patient people in the world.  I’m tend to be serious.  I have strong opinions about things.  I’m honest and straightforward.  At times I can be self-confident and speak with genuine conviction.  I generally prefer interacting with people who are intelligent, thoughtful and will engaged me in debate so that I can fine-tune my arguments.  I appreciate it when people take what I have to say seriously enough to listen to what I say the first time I say something.  If I have to repeat myself over and over again to be heard, I can get frustrated and angry.  I’m like in relation to my own children.   (Poor kids - although I must say they have learned to be “good listeners” at home and do well in school).

DON’T take 100 words to say what could have been said in 10. Content-free speech will cause an INTJ to zone out faster than repeating yourself.

True.  I understand the value of bullet points when I’m communicating with a leader of an organization.  Why waste time with the trivial?  Speak to the heart of the matter.  Get to the point.  (I’m probably being hypocritical here…since this post is a ramble - but as an INTJ and a Perfectionist, I’ll probably get back to this post at some point and revise it).  It’s out of courtesy to the audience.  If you are actually reading this right now…your probably a hell of a lot more patience than I have.

DON’T engage us in “small talk”. Keep in mind that you are competing for our attention with all the voices in our heads, and they are bound to be far more interesting than you. Do you really think your talk of the weather or your six year old’s soccer league is going to be more compelling than that? Please. Be realistic.

If you are a non-INTJ, this probably sounds pretty arrogant.  INTJs can come across as arrogant, critical, “know it alls”.  I think that’s part of Hillary’s image problem.  Part of the challenge in her campaign is finding ways to “soften” her image.   INTJs are generally intelligent and articulate.  But their appeal to logic and reason, and stoicism (think Al Gore, also an INTJ) often puts people to sleep.  Hillary likes to get specific.  She likes to talks about her plan for healthcare.  Unfortuately for her campaign, many voters don’t have patience to sit through a long explanation or presentation on a specific issue.  Since a majority of voters are not NT, she needs to find a way to connect with these voters.

DON’T look at an INTJ in bewilderment when she discloses an idea to you. Yes, it may have required a double somersault of imagination to reach their conclusion. Ask them to take you through it step-by-step; they will happily oblige. Ideas are of ultimate importance to an INTJ, and it is a compliment for them to share their ideas with you. Similarly, failing to give due attention to an INTJ’s idea is a high form of insult.

This just reinforces the previous point.  As an INTJ, Hillary takes ideas seriously.  Some of her earlier successes came when she went to town meetings (New Hampshire), when she met with people, listened to them, listened to her ideas.  She was able to convey her concern, her authenticity and ability to be connected (to stay present) with people.  Without this kind of context, though, Hillary can pontificate her ideas without connecting with people…can come across cold.

For more information on INTJs and to see the article the Do’s and Don’ts when Conversing with INTJs in its original context, visit the INTJ Forum (http://intjforum.com).