DISC in One Minute
DISC describes four ways people tend to act and talk. It comes from William Moulton Marston's 1928 book, Emotions of Normal People, and it measures behavior you can see. It says nothing about intelligence, values or worth.
D, Dominance, is the style of someone who moves fast, decides quickly and wants the point first. I, Influence, is the style of someone who talks things through, enjoys people and thinks out loud. S, Steadiness, is the style of someone who is patient, loyal and likes to know what is coming. C, Conscientiousness, is the style of someone who checks the facts, likes things done right and wants time to think.
Everyone uses all four. Most people lean on one or two of them, and that lean is their type. WiredType's free test finds yours and names it, one of 25 types, with a few lines on how you work best with other people.
The other person's style tells you how they like to be approached. Once you know it, you can open a conversation in the way that person finds easiest to hear.
Why Knowing Someone's Style Changes the First Conversation
A first conversation is short, and you usually go into it guessing. You talk the way you like to be talked to. That works well with someone who shares your style and less well with everyone else. A D who gets five minutes of small talk starts looking at the door. An S who gets a fast pitch and a request for a decision says "let me think about it" and never calls back.
When you know the person's style before you start, you can skip the guessing. Pick the person you are about to meet and read how to open with them.
How to open: Say who you are and why you came over in one or two sentences. "I'm Ana. I run the volunteer program at the food bank, and I wanted to ask how your company picks the causes it supports."
What helps: Ask a clear question, give a quick answer, and offer a next step they can say yes or no to.
What to skip: Don't spend a long time warming up before you say what you want. A D reads it as time spent on nothing.
How to open: Start with something personal and friendly. "I loved what you said on the panel about your first job. How did you end up in event work?"
What helps: Show real interest in their story, share a laugh, and make a plan to talk again.
What to skip: Don't pull out a list of questions. An I enjoys a conversation and tends to lose interest when it starts to feel like an interview.
How to open: Go slowly and make it easy. "Hi, I'm Ana. Is this your first time at one of these? I only know two people here."
What helps: Keep a calm pace, ask a question about them, and give them time to answer. Ask for a follow-up and let them choose when.
What to skip: Don't press for a decision on the spot. An S wants a day to think it over.
How to open: Be specific. "I read your article on inventory forecasting. I have a question about the method you used for seasonal items."
What helps: Bring facts you can stand behind, ask a clear question, and offer to send the details in writing.
What to skip: Don't make big claims without anything behind them. A C quietly marks you down for them.
The hard part is knowing the style before the conversation starts. That is what your WiredType card is for.
What Your Card Does That a Business Card Cannot
A paper business card tells someone how to reach you. Your WiredType card also tells them how to get along with you. It is a web page with its own link and QR code, and it is free to make, even before you take the test. Once you take the free test, you can add your type and a line about how to approach you. Anyone can open your card from the link, by scanning the code with a phone camera, or by typing your seven-character code at wiredtype.com/code.
Here is what the person who opens your card sees:
- Your name is shown with your photo or your initials, and with a role if you add one.
- Your DISC type is shown with its letters and its name, such as The Supporter, unless you choose to hide it.
- One line under "How I'm wired" tells people how to approach you. You pick it from lines written for your type. A D might choose "Give me the bottom line first, and I will ask for the details I need." An S might choose "Tell me about a change early, so I have a day to think it over."
- The QR code sits inside colored bands that show which styles lead your type.
Then the card gives them three things to do:
- Save to contacts. Your details go into the contacts on their phone. The contact includes a note with your type and your "How I'm wired" line, so months later, when they open your contact before a call, the note tells them how you like to be approached.
- Exchange details. They type their name and email, and a phone number if they want to, and the details appear at once in your People list, the list on WiredType of everyone you have met through your card or added yourself. They get your card and contact file by email. They can also write a private note to themselves, such as where you met and what you talked about. You never see it, and it goes only into their copy of your contact.
- See how you would get along. This starts a three-minute test. They see their own result first, and then how the two of you would get along.
Your card is useful well beyond work. Share it with a new neighbor, a coach on your child's team, a new in-law or a friend of a friend. Each of them learns how to get along with you before the second conversation.
After You Meet: Getting to Know Someone
The first meeting is where the card starts working for you. Everyone who exchanges details through your card lands in your People list on WiredType, with the date you met. You never have to type their details in yourself.
When a person takes the test from your card and chooses to share the result with you, Together, the page on WiredType where you keep your people, shows three things about the two of you: how to approach that person, where the two of you tend to clash, and one exercise to try together. This is included on every plan, including the free plan. Once you both have free accounts, you can also compare your two types side by side.
You can also set a check-in reminder for anyone on your list, every week, two weeks, month or three months, so a good first conversation does not end there. The free plan includes reminders for ten people.
Priya meets Marcus at a parents' night at school. Marcus scans the card on Priya's phone and taps Exchange details. That evening Marcus is in Priya's People list, and Priya's card is in Marcus's email. That weekend Marcus takes the test from the card and shares the result with Priya. Together now shows Priya that Marcus leads with C, that Marcus likes the details in writing before a decision, and that Priya's fast I style can feel like pressure to Marcus. When Priya asks Marcus to help with the school fundraiser, Priya sends a short written plan first and gives Marcus a few days to answer. Marcus says yes.
Using Your Card at Events and First Meetings
A few habits make the card easy to use in a crowded room.
- Put it on your home screen. Open your card and choose Show. Add it to your home screen, and from then on one tap opens your QR code, even without a signal. The screen stays on while the code is showing.
- Say your code out loud when a camera will not work. Anyone can type your seven-character code at wiredtype.com/code to open your card.
- Send the link before the meeting. If you are meeting someone for coffee, send your card's link the day before. They arrive knowing how you like to talk, and they can take the test first if they want to.
- Use event mode on Plus or Pro. Plus and Pro are WiredType's paid memberships, and the card is one part of what they include; the plan page lists the rest. Turn event mode on with the event's name and how long it lasts, from four hours to three days. Everyone you add and everyone who exchanges details through your card gets that event's label, so the next morning you can open the list of everyone you met there.
- Make more than one card on Plus or Pro. You can have up to five cards under one code, for example one for work and one for your running club, each with its own role, line and design.
Practice: Read the Card, Then Open the Conversation
You scan a card whose "How I'm wired" line reads: "Show me the numbers or the source behind a claim, and I will take it seriously." Which style most likely leads this person's type?
Correct. Asking for the numbers or the source is the C style. Open with something specific and checkable, and offer to send the details in writing.
Not quite. The clue is the request for evidence before trust. That is the C style. A D line asks for speed, an I line asks to talk it through, and an S line asks for time and a calm pace.
At a conference you scan the card of Dana, a hospital manager. Dana's type leads with D, and the line under "How I'm wired" reads: "Tell me what you need and by when, in two sentences or fewer." You want to ask Dana for a meeting about your scheduling software. What do you say?