What Animal Are You?

In the award wining musical 'Cats', Andrew Lloyd Weber uses a children's poem by T. S. Elliott. through some phenomenal music and the genius of Elliot, Weber paints the argument that people are like cats and should be addressed as the type of can each one is.

In order to communicate more effectively and be able to offer exceptional interpersonal relationships, we need to understand the languages people speak. Much of communication is non-verbal. This could be anything from facial expressions, posture, color and type of clothing or even a hand shake. I have had handshake where they hurt my hand and others that were wimpy.
What did that say to me or about them? The non-verbal is often more honest than what comes out of the mouth. Some people can edit their thoughts through speech. Not everyone has diarrhea of the mouth. However knowing what type of person you are dealing with can sure help.

There are four types of people out there in the world. Those are the panther, owl, peacock an dolphin. most people are hybrids of one or more of these.

The Panther can be found most often in management and is the go-getter. This person can be impatient, be pushy and pressure you. They also love control and have a competitive spirit. You may even find them interrupting a conversation. They often forget that most of the world is vastly different than them. They have to learn to slow down and let others finish talking. As patience is not in their tool chest, they need to develop that skill if they are going to be liked and accepted. They also need to learn to let others take take charge of a situation and trust those who do. They also have little time for emotions. This does not lend itself in married life as they have trouble developing relationships.

The peacock can be a feathery friend or their feathers can get in your face. Like the panther, the peacock also likes to come on strong and give the illusion of being in charge. They are emotional creatures and react emotionally rather than logically. Thus it makes sense to say they are unstructured and would leave anything organizational responsibilities to others as they cannot think that way. They talk alot and are self-centered and sometimes self-serving. They are also very social creatures and get into other people's business. You may have seen them at a party or at work as the social butterfly. Because many folks don't get them, they are often misunderstood and discredited as superfluous or artificial. Others may fit the role of a drama queen or diva. Here in America, NBC Television uses a peacock as their logo. I wonder what they are telling us?

Perhaps the animal who is taken the most for granted is the dolphin. They are wonderful help mates and great employees but often lack the communication skills or self-esteem to be assertive. Dolphins can appear vague in what they say and sometimes don't even speak up. This is because they don't want to cause friction and hates confrontation. They move more slowly and not as much goal oriented. Sometimes they have trouble separating their emotions or personal life from the task they are doing. Just as Peacocks cannot organize , with the dolphin privacy is not in their vocabulary.

The wisdom of the owl cannot be found in his social skills. He has trouble dealing with people and is more task driven. The owl generally focuses on facts and figures and can come off inflexible. He takes his time and often too much time in decision making and can be standoffish. The owls behavior may be interpreted as judgemental and could learn a lesson from the peacock in trusting his intuition. Owls and panthers are most commonly in management positions and are career driven. The family can take a back seat in their lives. Is that really wise on the owl's part?

So what personality type or hybrid of personality are you? How do you deal with these other animals? If you can learn through reading non-verbal language and personalities of others, you will know what animal you are interacting with. Whether that is your wife, co-worker, client, or local teacher, you can communicate better when you know this. Take time and ask questions. Get to know the person you are talking to. Develop that relationship and let it grow. As it matures you will see blossoms and fruit that are ripe for enjoying. Then you can close that sale or request that favor. Then you can reap the rewards of your investment in the animal. You will see that though they may have these animal traits they are real people and you now can speak their language. You can address the cat as a cat and a person as a person.

Thanks for reading and feel free to comment or upVote.