A Communicative Look Into Real Estate Internships: A Guide

Matthew Penner June 8, 2010

Introduction

Purpose o As a real estate intern for Doug Van Pelt and Thomas Schultheis at Prudential

California Realty, I’d like to share with you the practicality of using communication concepts such as the Myers Briggs Type Indicator personality assessment, Coordinated Management of Meaning Theory and In-Group/Out-Group effects in order to improve communication in the real estate office.

This Guide Will Discuss... o The Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Personality Assessment

o Origins, Principle Contributors o How identifying personality types can help you in real estate o Examples of two personality types

With examples of observable communication to help you recognize these personalities in your daily life

o Coordinated Management of Meaning Theory (CMM) o Theory explained

Concepts of theory explained o Examples between myself and my boss illustrating CMM in the real estate office

o How to bring MBTI and CMM together to improve communication within the real estate office

o An incident of miscommunication in the real estate office o Described, and further discussed with the integration of MBTI and CMM o Illustrates how, when used together, MBTI and CMM are more useful than when

used apart o How future miscommunications can and will be prevented with the use of MBTI

and CMM in combination o Interpretation of experience as a real estate intern

o In terms of In-Group/Out-Group Effects o Conclusion

The Myers Briggs Type Indicator

Origins o Carl Jung believed that variations between the behaviors of individuals were actually orderly and consistent

o Variations in behavior are due to the different ways in which people perceive communicative events (The Myers & Briggs Foundat ion, 2010). Carl Jung

• MBTI reveals Jung’s 16 personality types, and when these types are understood and can be identified in others, miscommunication can be greatly reduced in the workplace by pairing those whose personality types are compatible to work together (The Myers & Briggs Foundat ion, 2010).

Isabel Briggs Myers

o Isabel Briggs Myers and her mother, Katharine Briggs harnessed Jung’s Theory of Psychological Types to make it simple and useful in people’s day to day lives, including in the workplace (The Myers & Briggs Foundation, 2010).

Katharine Briggs

The Myers Briggs Indicator

16 Personalities are Obtained from Preferences on 4 Opposing Dimensions

o Knowing your MBTI type can help you with career planning. o You can determine what kind of work you want to do, or why a certain field makes

you comfortable, while others do not (The Myers & Briggs Foundation, 2010). o Knowing your personality type will help you to understand what types of work

environments will allow you to flourish in your career (The Myers & Briggs Foundation, 2010). For example, Introverts prefer putting a lot of detail into their work, and working in

a disruptive environment could hinder their performance. o Knowing your MBTI type can help you while you are at work as well.

o Understanding your personality preferences allow you to approach how you work in a manner that best suits your style (The Myers & Briggs Foundation, 2010). For example, you will know how to manage your time and how to approach

problem solving in ways that are most comfortable/effective for you.

My Intern MBTI Type

My Myers Briggs type is ISTJ

o I am an INTROVERT o I enjoy working on projects by myself, often in isolation. o When in the real estate office, I prefer to have my boss assign me a task

such as write up a mailer, and then leave me alone until I can finish it and present it to him.

o I am SENSING

o I prefer using skills that I have perfected so that I make as few mistakes as possible.

o One of my bosses, Doug, first showed me how to do a broker’s price opinion (BPO) and I began doing them using the techniques he taught me. At a later date, Thomas, my other boss, showed me a different way to do BPOs using different techniques. While I understand Thomas’s method, I still prefer to use the method that I have already mastered.

o I am a THINKER when it comes to making decisions

o Unfortunately, I sometimes hurt other’s feelings without realizing it because I often offer somewhat harsh critiques.

o When proofreading one of Doug’s marketing flyers, I pointed out a spelling error in a somewhat blunt way, and in retrospect it was rude. Luckily, Doug only laughed and wasn’t offended.

o I live a JUDGING lifestyle

o I rely on lists to organize my tasks very frequently. o On the job, I make lists of which homes are active listings and which

are closed listings, allowing me to stay organized & finish tasks quickly.

All of these personality traits add up to classify me as what Keirsey calls an INSPECTOR (1998).

o This means I am dependable, responsible and like and uphold structure. However, I don’t enjoy people making my accomplishments the center of attention (Keirsey, 1998).

o When Doug tells other Realtors how impressed he is by my ambition to get into the real estate industry so early, I usually get embarrassed and my inner introvert comes out, as I dislike being the center of attention.

Doug Van Pelt the Realtor/My Mentor’s MBTI Type

Doug’s Myers Briggs type is ENFJ

o Doug is an EXTROVERT o Doug is outgoing, enjoys phone calls with clients and is often impatient

when it comes to long tasks, such as getting an escrow approved on a sold home.

o Doug is INTUITIVE

o Doug enjoys the challenge of learning new things and enjoys doing innovative things. This can be seen through Doug’s use of new technology, such as using an iPhone & enrolling in classes to learn how to efficiently use computer programs & the Internet to his benefit.

o In addition, he likes presenting overviews of what he has planned for me at the beginning of each shift, rather than simply assigning one task at a time.

o Doug relies on FEELING to make decisions

o Doug is very value driven. While I see other realtors engaging in dishonest acts for a profit, Doug always tries to make decisions based on what is best for his client.

o Doug enjoys meeting the needs of others; constantly sending follow up emails just to make sure his clients or colleagues received something requested from him.

o Doug lives a JUDGING lifestyle

o Doug enjoys making plans. On house tours, he quickly develops the fastest and easiest way to get through town.

o Doug makes decisions quickly and doesn’t like down time.

This makes Doug what Keirsey calls a TEACHER (1998).

o This means that Doug has a natural talent for teaching and enjoys helping others learn. He searches for each person’s potential and tries to bring out the best he can (Keirsey, 1998).

o Doug is constantly asking me to shadow him so that I can learn what he is doing, whether it is to learn a basic computer program or to see the inside of the loan lending process.

Use Coordinated Management of Meaning Theory to Understand How Meaning is Created in Interactions and to Reduce Miscommunication in the Workplace

o We use a hierarchy of meaning to interpret our experiences o The hierarchy consists of multiple levels of meaning

How we interpret experiences at lower levels of meaning is influenced by higher, more general, levels of meaning (Wood, 2004).

Level 6: CULTURAL PATTERNS

Level 5: AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Level 4: RELATIONSHIPS

Level 3: EPISODE

Level 2: SPEECH ACT

Level 1: CONTENT

o We construct our own social realities by trying to understand what is going on in

our interactions, and then create rules to decide what kind of action is appropriate or necessary (Wood, 2004).

o Essentially, given the hierarchy or meaning, we apply rules that we have learned in past interactions and decide how to perceive and respond to others.

Coordinated Management of Meaning Theory

This is what the levels in the hierarchy mean... Level 1: CONTENT

o Content is what is actually being said (Wood, 2004). o Example: Doug says to me “Go get me coffee intern!”

Level 2: SPEECH ACT o Speech acts provide a context for interpreting content by treating

communication like an action, such as joking or pleading (Wood, 2004). o Example: Doug laughs after saying, “Go get me coffee intern!”

Level 3: EPISODE o Episodes are situations in which the communication is taking place. For

example, two individuals could be communicating in an episode of “friendly banter,” or in an episode of a “serious conversation.” In a way, it frames how you interpret the speech act because if someone jokes during an episode of “serious conversation,” it can be seen as inappropriate (Wood, 2004).

o Example: Doug and I had just been joking that he should demand more of me as an intern, thus it was an episode of joking back and forth.

Level 4: RELATIONSHIPS o Relationships define the dynamics of how people interact, which is why you

communicate differently with strangers than with friends (Wood, 2004). o Example: Since Doug and I have known each other for some time, we are

comfortable joking with each other in our mentor/intern relationship due to our friendship/friendship relationship.

Level 5: AUTOBIOGRAPHY o The autobiography is how one perceives him or herself, and influences how

they are willing to communicate with others, in turn affecting the meaning of their messages (Wood, 2004).

o Example: Doug does not perceive himself as a serious person, and therefore feels comfortable making jokes and being funny.

Level 6: CULTURAL PATTERNS o Cultural patterns are culturally created rules that allow us to see some

interactions as normal and some as abnormal (Wood, 2004). o Example: Because Doug and I share many cultural patterns, I recognized

that his use of sarcasm was a normal and common type of interaction.

Coordinated Management of Meaning Theory

o CMM emphasizes that we use communication rules to coordinate meanings in interaction with others (Wood, 2004).

CONSTITUTIVE RULES REGULATIVE RULES Constitutive rules are learned from Regulative rules are used to interacting with others and are used determine how to to understand an event or message. appropriately respond to a message or event.

o Constitutive Rules reflect the patterns of our social groups and are not universally accepted, as they vary across different groups and cultures (Wood, 2004).

o Example: I used constitutive rules to understand that Doug was only joking when he laughed after telling me to get him coffee.

o Regulative Rules come from experience in past interactions that guide us toward

appropriate responses in the future (Wood, 2004). o Example: I used regulative rules to follow Doug’s sarcastic comment with my own

sarcastic comment as I asked “is there anything else you would like Mr. Van Pelt?” which I paired with a smirk.

How do MBTI and CMM work together?

o By understanding both MBTI and CMM, the integration of the two will make it easier to communicate!

MBTI identifies 16 personality types.

CMM says that we interpret

meaning through the hierarchy of meaning.

CMM also says that each person

interprets meaning differently, depending on how they analyze each level of the hierarchy of meaning and their rules.

Using the personality types

presented in the MBTI, we can predict how individuals will interpret meaning in the different levels of CMM’S hierarchy. This allows us to tailor messages to individuals in the workplace depending on their personality type in order to reduce miscommunication.

For example, those who are “N’s” see situations as a “big picture,” while those who are “S’s” see situations in bits an pieces, and could experience miscommunication on the “Episode” level of CMM’s hierarchy.

Miscommunication can be greatly reduced when we understand how to use MBTI and CMM together.

What Happens When Miscommunication Occurs?

Miscommunication in the real estate office.

On a particular occasion, Doug asked me to print out a template for one of the mailers we were planning to send out to a neighborhood. Because we had just been talking about the envelope design, I assumed he meant that he wanted the template for the envelope printed. However, when I returned with the printed envelope, Doug looked at me and clarified that he wanted the actual mailer template printed.

Analyzing the Miscommunication Using the MBTI and CMM together,

it is possible to see how this miscommunication occurred.

The miscommunication holds its roots

in the episode level of CMM’s hierarchy of meaning, caused by Doug’s and mine’s differences in the MBTI personalities.

Because of Doug’s MBTI profile as an ENFJ, he tends to see the big picture (N)

of things, while I tend to see the bits and pieces (S) (The Myers & Briggs

Foundat ion, 2010). In this particular example, I saw the episode in fragments and when Doug asked me to print the template, I assumed he was referring only to the envelope portion of the discussion since we had just been talking about it. However, because Doug focuses on the big picture, he saw the entire discussion and request as though we had been talking about the mailer in the bigger picture, and that the discussion of the envelope was included as a mere aspect, not one of the focal points of the conversation.

In order to understand why the miscommunication occurred, the use of both the

MBTI and CMM Theory together is more beneficial than using just one or the other.

By using both concepts to illustrate the nature of the miscommunication, it is easy to see that Doug and I perceive the different levels of CMM’s hierarchy of meaning differently due to our MBTI personality types.

How Future Miscommunications Can and Are Being Prevented

Knowing both CMM and the MBTI, and knowing how to use them together allows me to evaluate those with whom I work to try to figure out which personality type they are.

By recognizing Doug’s tendency to be a “big picture” thinker, I have been attempting to put myself in his place when he requests things of me to make sure I am accurately fulfilling his requests.

o Because I am a “T,” I think that the most logical thing to do is to put myself in Doug’s shoes, making our communication more efficient. As an “I,” it gives me more time to perform my tasks alone because Doug doesn’t have to constantly explain what he is expecting of me.

o By knowing my other co-worker’s

personality types as well, I can estimate how they will interpret certain messages, allowing me to custom tailor a message to different individuals. This ensures that I am doing my best within the theoretical limits of CMM and the MBTI to reduce miscommunication while being a real estate intern.

The Real Estate Intern vs. Established Realtors (In-Group, Out-Group Effects)

Communication scholars define In-Groups as a collection of individuals with whom a person feels he or she belongs (West & Turner, 2007).

Out-Groups can be defined as groups to which a person feels he or she does not belong (West & Turner, 2007).

Individuals tend to either join groups they feel comfortable in, or make their

existing groups more enjoyable experiences so that they can gain or maintain a positive social identity (West & Turner, 2007).

Upon taking on the role as a real

estate intern, I felt as a member of the out-group looking in on the in-group of professional Realtors.

It was daunting to hear members of

the in-group using industry jargon that I did not understand.

I continue to search for ways to

become a member of the in-group as best I can without becoming a licensed Realtor.

The miscommunication with my boss

regarding the template, while trivial, frightened me as I believed it further detached me from the in-group because of the mistake I had made.

How Does a Communication Major Perform as a Real Estate Intern?

This guide has presented how a background in communication, and knowledge of communication tools such as Coordinated Management of Meaning Theory as well as The Myers Briggs Type Indicator, can help one become an important team member and a member of the in-group.

o Understanding CMM and the MBTI, and knowing how to use them in

conjunction, allows me to work efficiently as possible miscommunication is reduced, and allows me to become more a part of the in-group.

For Example, knowing how to use CMM and the MBTI together will allow me to lessen the chance that the type of miscommunication that was described above will happen again.

• In effect, I will complete tasks more efficiently; I will use fewer resources in completing these tasks and will be available for more assignments—meaning I will take away more useful experience from being a real estate intern.

References

Keirsey, D. (1998). Please understand me II. Del Mar, CA: Prometheus Nemesis Book Company

Myers Briggs, I. (1962). Introduction to type. Consulting Psychologists Press, Inc

The Myers & Briggs Foundation. (2010). MBTI basics. Retrieved from http://www.myersbriggs.org/my%2Dmbti%2Dpersonality%2Dtype/mbti%2Dbasics/

West, R., & Turner, L. H. (2007). Introducing communication theory: Analysis and application. New York, NY: McGraw Hill

Wood, J. T. (2004). Communication theories in action: An introduction. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth