I’ve been talking and thinking a lot about (read obsessed) our video backgrounds lately. You can imagine my delight then when I stumbled across this scientific study that indicates we can tell a great deal about a person’s personality by their office background (cue harp music).
I love body language. Yet as I continue to study and learn more, I’ve realized that body language is the foundation to communication, not the entire building.
Learning and being able to read and leverage nonverbal skills is a game-changer but personalities, context, decorations (clothing and interior), tone, and various nuances must be taken into account as well. They, too, are a part of the overall equation. Which brings me to the article that cited the study.
If you are skimming, here are two takeaways:
“That a person’s home and office environment can
reveal certain personality traits”.
Also,
“Spaces such as bedrooms and offices are an incredibly rich source of information about people’s personalities”.
In the study, participants were asked to rate personality traits using the “Big Five” assessment tool that measures openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism, based only on a look at either an office or bedroom space.
Exercise:
Look at these pictures and tell me what kind of person works in this office:
What words pop to mind?
What cues are you noticing?
By viewing this person’s space, have you started a dialogue in your mind about who they are?
Do you feel like you have a sense of who the person is?
And…here’s a picture of my office.
What does it say about me?
Any guesses on my Big Five traits?
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
I’d also love to see what your office is saying about you! Send me pictures of your office if you are interested in hearing how others may be perceiving you!
Your co-pilot (who previously hadn’t noticed all the cords she has in her office),
