ENFP Communication Skills

The wish to understand others and to help them is what fills an ENFP’s life with meaning and serves as their main motivation. This is how they perceive the world and the people around them - their emotions and actions. One might say that orientation of an ENFP’s feelings is primarily defined by the following factors: opportunity to offer assistance vs. lack thereof, and acceptance vs. rejection. They feel their best when they have the opportunity to help and they are accepted by others and their worst when they encounter withdrawal and rejection.

Few can rival an ENFP in their ability to convince people and to earn their trust. They excel in feeling and understanding human relationships, and are always ready to pay attention to the other party’s feelings. An ENFP’s style of communication is characterized by their readiness to help by activating and developing other party’s abilities.

Communication with an ENFP is pleasant and easy. They often improvise in their discussion of various topics, although they can prepare a conversation agenda in advance. Many ENFPs are very energetic and always ready to join a discussion of any sort. They often initiate riveting discussions.

ENFPs dislike solitude and require company in everything they do. They try to diversify their interaction with others as much as possible so as to avoid monotony in communication.

ENFPs find it easy enough to communicate with people of different personality types on a variety of subjects, although their interest in topics that are heavily analytical in nature is somewhat lower.

An ENFP will have an extensive and diverse circle of friends and acquaintances. They do a great deal of active communicating at receptions and meetings, or during public events and recreational activities.

ENFPs tend to have a large number of business contacts, and their communication routine can be rather intense. Their co-workers (or others who work in the same field) are often reliant on, or interested in, their competent opinion of counsel on professional subjects. An ENFP’s communication agenda usually involves an exchange of ideas and opinions, professional consultation, and practical advice.

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ENFP: Strategies for Successful Communication

An ENFP finds it easy to establish a common ground with people of a mindset similar to theirs - or, in other words, the representatives of intuitive/feeling (NF) personality types such as ENFP, INFP, ENFJ, and INFJ. ENFPs are usually open to active communication with other NFs. They have a similar way of perceiving the world, which is why an ENFP finds it easy to share their feelings and views with other NFs, and is also likely to comprehend other NFs’ feelings and views.

In their interaction with the representatives of intuitive/thinking types (NT), including ENTJ, INTJ, ENTP, and INTP personality types, ENFPs should rely on conceptual and logical communication. ENFPs’ communication with people from this group can be on a variety of topics and is often seen as beneficial by both parties. And while many ENFPs form their opinion based on their feelings, whereas the NT people for the most part strive to maintain an objective view of events, they often find common ground for compelling discussion and search of solutions.

In their communication with the representatives of sensing/feeling types (SF), including ESFJ, ISFJ, ESFP, and ISFP personality types, ENFPs should try to orient their manner of communication toward feelings, facts, and concrete sensations. ENFPs often establish warm and confiding relationships with people from this group, which is easy enough to understand - their emotional perception of the world is very similar.

ENFPs may encounter difficulties in communicating with the representatives of sensing/thinking types (ST), including ESTJ, ISTJ, ESTP, and ISTP personality types. ENFPs should strive to confine their communication with people of the sensing/thinking types to facts and their direct implications. Many of the manifestly feeling (F) representatives of the ENFP type may find it taxing to maintain this sort of communication. They often struggle to find argumentation that people from the ST group will understand, and thus often either try to keep their communication brief, or get irritated by the other party’s “inability to understand”. In order to establish a level of discussion that both parties will find acceptable, an ENFP has to tune into the communicative style compatible with the ST group in advance.

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What helps successful communication for an ENFP:

• topic has to do with feelings or welcomes expression of feelings
• the matter of discussion requires that active measures be taken
• the matter of discussion is of a conceptual nature
• the matter of discussion requires a creative approach

What hinders successful communication for an ENFP:

• the matter of discussion is of a wholly practical and mundane nature
• long communication with people from the ST group
• the discussion is mostly analytic in nature

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