Type Talk: The 16 Personality Types That Determine How We Live, Love, and Work

by Otto Kroeger, Janet M. Thuesen

Determine your personality using a scientifically validated method based on the work of C.G. Jung and gain insight into why others behave the way they do, and why you are the person you are.  

What’s your type?

Would you rather . . .
. . . celebrate with the whole crowd or just a few friends?
. . . focus on the facts or get an overall impression?
. . . go with what “seems logical” or what “feels fair”?
. . . keep to a schedule or keep your options open?
 
How you answer these questions is the very beginning of understanding who you are and how you relate to those around you, by using a new and exciting method called Typewatching. Otto Kroeger and Janet M. Thuesen have developed Typewatching from the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, which was derived from the work of C. G. Jung. Now they have put together the first and only popular guide to the MBTI in Type Talk . Here is a one-of-a-kind guide that describes this scientifically validated approach to “name-calling,” a method that has been used for more than forty years by individuals, families, corporations, and governments who want to communicate better.

Typewatching as explained in Type Talk is easy to learn and natural to use. With even moderate practice it can help teachers teach and students learn, workers work and bosses boss. It can help lovers love, parents parent, and everyone accept themselves and others more easily. Best of all, Typewatching is fun.
 
Type Talk examines the four pairs of preferences that are fundamental to every personality type: Extraversion/Introversion, Sensing/iNtuition, Thinking/Feeling, and Judging/Perceiving. Kroeger and Thuesen provide a self-evaluation that can be used to determine which of each of these preferences best describes you. They delineate every combination of preferences—there are 16 different personality types, so you are sure to find yourself—and they go on to demonstrate how to analyze and evaluate other people as well. Once armed with this knowledge, you will learn how to thrive in a world of so many different types. Here is a celebration of the similarities and differences in people, an odyssey of discovery in which the final destination is success, satisfaction, and serenity.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Self Help, Reference, Leadership, Business, Personal Development

289 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Otto Kroeger having become an internationally known organizational consultant, with his primary area of expertise being the implementation of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) assessment, has now retired. As a renowned speaker, trainer and best selling author on the subject of psychological type he was in high demand for over three decades for his talent in bringing type theory to diverse personal and professional groups throughout the world. He is a Past-President of the Association of Psychological Type and a current member of NTL. He has co-authored four leading books on Type: Type Talk, Type Talk At Work, 16 Ways to Love Your Lover, and Personality Type and Religious Leadership (with Roy M. Oswald), and has conducted extensive research with the “unscored” items on the Form G MBTI® assessment.

Reviews

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most readable, engaging introduction to Myers' theory of type I've come across. Type Talk is to Myers-Briggs what I'm O.K., You're O.K. is to Transactional Analysis. When you finish reading it you'll have the satisfying illusion that you understand it thoroughly.

[mlady_rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite book on Myers-Briggs temperament sorting. I love the insight into what motivates and energizes different types of people. No specific type is considered "better" than another, although some combinations are more rare.

Personally, I'm an INTJ - Introvert/ iNtuitive/ Thinking/ Judging.

Introversion/ Extroversion - how you gain energy.
iNtuitive/ Sensor - how you perceive the world.
Thinking/ Feeling - how you make decisions
Judging/ Perceiving - how you organize your world.

INTJ INFJ INFJ INTJ
INTP INFP INFP INTP
ENTP ENFP ENFP ENTP
ENTJ ENFJ ENFJ ENTJ

P.S. Just bought my 3rd copy of this book. (11/29/2013) Lost the first one. The second is buried in storage. Found the third on Kindle.

[Emilie Belisle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a pretty interesting read although I found a bit of the information quite redundant. It would be better suited for someone who is just starting to get into MBTI!

[Chris Dietzel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a lot of books on personality types and this might be the best of all of them.

[Bucket · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kroeger and Thuesen write in-depth about the practical applications of the Myers-Briggs type indicator, which is based on Jungian personality types. Basically, they take a complex, philosophical subject and break it down in ways that help people apply it to their own lives and relationships. They discuss the implications of personality type in all aspects of life: work, marriage, parenting, school, etc.

For my graduate school leadership class I took the officially-facilitated test and came out with the personality type: INFJ. The first thing I did was read the profile in chapter 10 of this book, and it's accuracy in 95% of what it said nearly reduced me to tears.

Reading the rest of the book gave me a lot of insight into interpersonal dynamics I see and experience at work and at school. It also put into clearer form many of the ways that my husband and I have worked out to understand each other's different needs and goals. I was excited to see that much of what the two of us have discovered about each other and compromised on over the years of our relationship falls right in line with Kroeger and Thuesen's suggestions.

What really made me think more than anything else in the book was the little bit of information tacked on the end in Appendix 2: that extroverts show their best/dominant quality to the world and introverts actually keep their best/dominant quality to themselves and show their secondary quality to the world. This has definitely shifted somewhat the way I work on being a more socially engaged person. I have definitely been going at it using my F trait (my secondary trait) and keeping my N trait to myself until I really, really feel comfortable.

Themes: psychology, Jung, leadership, relationships, communication, practical self-help

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's definitely an introductory book -- which is a shame since I picked it up after already exploring this subject for weeks and weeks on end. That's not the book's fault though. Honestly, if it wasn't stuff that I already had a grasp on, I would have given this a higher rating.

I didn't like how the final type-descriptions in the back were extremely short. Fleshing out each type would have been a lot more interesting to read. It was pretty fragmented. Also being able to see the combination of all of these letters (E/I, N/S, T,F, J/P) finally meshing together at the end of the book would have been much more fulfilling. We could have seen everything we were reading about come together. I suppose one can still do a rougher-version that themselves though.

What really stood out to me were the examples sprinkled throughout the book. Theoretically, I understand/understood the concepts, but seeing real situations really made the content stick. Prime examples come from the open-door policies in the office, the husband asking his wife if she wanted a peach as well as her response, the handedness analogy in chapter one, etc.

I would recommend this book to anyone. Even if you aren't a subscriber in type-casting or MBTI, gaining insight into how people interact was worth the read (especially if someone were to apply it to the workplace).

[February Four · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this for the comprehensive overview of all 16 types as well as some things on what to look for, but Typewatching is not just about people on the extremes--people who are close to the center of the spectrum between their E and I, for example, don't act like the E or I types described in the book, and it is very difficult to get at other subtle differences like that. Overall, though, this was a positive read.

[Jonathan Downing · Rating 3 out of 5]

LOVED this book. It was very good and it told me a lot about the MBTI that I previously didn't know. I would say, though, that although it does introduce the topic from the beginning, having some background knowledge about the Type Indicator certainly came in useful.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good introduction to the concepts of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator. This is where I started, and I usually recommend this book as a starting point to people when they want to know more about MBTI and personality typology in general (see 4/8/22 update) . As I said, it introduces the concepts in a way that's written in an engaging and easy language. However, I think the book's main flaw is that it encorporates too much from Keirsey's work, e.g. Please Understand Me II. I am highly critical of Keirsey's work, and I believe that this book suffers from drawing too much on Keirsey's temperaments, which leads to more stereotypical content. However, in spite of this flaw, I still recommend this book (see 4/8/22 update). I still go back to it from time to time to refresh myself and to use as an example of how to convey the information about personality typology to people unfamiliar with the concepts.

4/8/2022 update to the above: My understanding and conception of typological systems has evolved so much in the last 10 years; therefore I've demoted my star rating and I can no longer recommend this book as a solid foundation of how to approach typological theory, since I don't think that MBTI is a valid psychological tool anymore. However, if you're interested in learning more specifically about the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, and that alone, this book is a good place to start. My original review's other positive concepts still stand.

[Miles Wen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s good to know Myers Briggs Personality Types and how different people might fit into different personality categories. However, feels like that such “categorisation” serves more like an assurance to one’s prior judgement on an individual rather than providing practical insights on how to work with people in general.

[Hailey Jorris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating! I love how they discuss "type watching" and teach how to guess someone's personality in a matter of minutes (although some personalities may not be easy to guess and require many interactions). I also appreciated how they clarified that personalities are complex and they aren't suggesting that we are strictly one personality. Rather, we have "preferences." The way we reenergize, take in information, make decisions, and what we do with that information, can help to determine which letters represent our personality types. I'm an INFJ - the one quirk is that, at times, I can be incredibly indecisive, which does not match the description of an INFJ.

[asiaa]

chyba jestem za bardzo w temacie żeby coś wyciągnąć z tej książki, raczej polecałabym osobom, które chcą poznać ten koncept od zera

[Victor Ruiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good insights

Great book talks about personalities and how they help us relate to others and explains a lot to why I’ve had conflicts and differences with others. It’s an introductory book and if you want more details (like cognitive functions) there are more resources outside the scope of this book

[Tessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had a lot of information to offer-- some of it interesting, some of it very drawn out. There were a few chapters I skimmed because they just didn't seem relevant for me, but there were some chapters I read in one sitting because I was so curious about the topic. I think it might be a good little resource for people who are just starting to get into MBTI. I've been studying MBTI for a while so a lot of it was like a review for me, but I still grasped a few new, interesting things. It was just boring for me overall.

Two little disclaimers to keep in mind: 1) It was published in 1988, so some of the information/examples are a bit dated. 2) Sometimes the descriptions of the different functions sounded like they were written by someone biased against those functions, which I was not a fan of.

[Kev Willoughby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Type Talk is a very insightful book that helped me to understand myself and those that I work with more clearly. I was not surprised to learn that my "type" is INTJ. What was surprising and helpful was finding out what effect each of those characteristics within my profile has on my interaction with others at work. The Type Talk personality theory is built around four tendencies that are natural parts of an individual's personal traits. Each individual has a natural propensity to lean toward one preference in each of the following pairs: Introvert or Extrovert; Intuitive or Sensing; Thinking or Feeling; and Judging or Perceiving.

[Peter Marendeak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Régóta ismerős volt hallásra az MBTI rendszere, viszont ez volt az első könyvem, amit olvastam a témában. És érdekes, hogy a módszer hazai ismertsége ellenére korábban nem volt magyar nyelvű szakirodalma.
A negatívum, hogy kb csak a könyv végére sikerült beülnie, pontosan mit is takarnak a betűk (bár valószínűleg ez inkább rólam árulkodik), még úgy is, hogy sokat segített a könyv mellé adott kis könyvjelző. És valószínűleg az sem segített, hogy pontosan úgy olvastam, akár egy regényt is, első oldatól az utolsóig, nem pedig mint egy kézikönyvet.

[Adrienna · Rating 3 out of 5]

In general, I took brief notes on my personality traits as a INTJ. I learned there are more males in this personality trait/characteristic and lines up with the fields I have done already...just one more to go and hope I do well based on this book and others in relation....

[Elizabeth Pietzsch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mostly skimmed through this book to the parts that go into detail about my specific results, INFJ, from the MBTI. I also may have forced my significant other into taking the questionnaire and read more about how we interpret and handle situations as well as how we communicate.

[MAria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Очень интересно и познавательно. Помогает взглянуть на некоторые вещи и события под новым углом. Расширяет кругозор. Не обязательно следовать методу в повседневной жизни до самых мелочей, но общий принцип помогает справится с определенными ситуациями и не переходить "на личности".

[Jennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't read this entire book - maybe read half and certain sections. Highly recommend it tho as it explains the Myer Brigg personalities SO well 👏🏻

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

An old but still readable presentation of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator of personality. A helpful focus on its relevance to interpersonal and workplace relationships

[Mihai Adrian · Rating 5 out of 5]

“As we've said many times before, Introverts get ulcers; Extroverts give ulcers.”

😅

P.S.: INFP for life XD

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good read! I've known vaguely of MBTI for as long as I can remember and Introvert/Extrovert has been a part of my vocabulary just as long. But I never quite understood the basis of how it worked and what all the other parts of the personality types works. This book definitely clarified some things. My only complaint is that the writers seemed somewhat biased toward some personality preferences, and seemed to expound upon the flaws of some preferences more than others. Helpful read, next stop cognitive function!

[Maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars. Definitely interesting for someone already intrigued by personality types (like me, the INFJ), but would probably be dense or dry for someone just dipping their toe in. Also a bit funny at times given that it was written in the 80s so it's pointedly dated in some respects (though I can appreciate their efforts here and there to go against the stereotypical grain and acknowledge that many societal perceptions of masculinity and femininity are performative and not necessarily real).

[Ayelet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the first part of the book to be the most interesting. I related to the generalizations about types but then got bored when they started talking about workplace, dating/marriage and raising children. I just stopped caring. I do think that it can be useful for understanding the differences between people.

[Lacy Lovelace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book for MBTI! I learned a lot from
it. I did feel like it focused on the individual letters more than the 4 letter personalities. I liked the way it was laid out and how typewatching was applied to so many facets of life. I feel like I have an even better understanding of MBTI!

[kylie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read this book for school, and it was pretty good. It was informative and had some good information, but it didn't have anything that really made me want to read it. However, I can start to see how "Typewatching" shows up in the real world. This book is a decent read, but I probably wouldn't read it by my own accord.

[Nikita · Rating 5 out of 5]

actually suuuuper helpful to learn about yourself and your strengths/weaknesses as well as other people and how to work with them & their strengths and weaknesses

now whenever I meet someone, I instantly try to determine their type XD

[Kavish · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a good book if you want to read and learn about personality types.But it's also very boring.For you to finish this book,You need to be REALLY interested in learning about personalities and people reading.

[Arthur H. Guinn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bullshit pseudoscience