Summary:  People make decisions differently, understand how if you want an answer quickly.

Ever notice how people make decisions? How some can make decisions on the spot and others take what feels like an eternity? How is this and does it matter?

We make decisions every day, they can be as mundane as “Do I want coffee or tea this morning?” to “I need to plan for the following year of business”. Regardless of the type of decisions, my experience has shown there are various style people have to making decisions. There is no right or wrong way to make a decision it’s just good to know and adapt to the style of person you need a decision from.

I would say there are three styles.

Research based. Before making a decision a person will review all possible information, it could be on the internet, close advisors, reviewing every possible scenario or seeking experts. This person needs all the information they can get their hands on and process it before they make a decision. There appears to be almost a fear of making the wrong one.

Intuition based. This is the person who will review information given to them briefly and decide. It either sounds right to them or not. Regardless of the outcome they accept it and move along. They take in it stride.

Match based. This is a person who already knows what they are looking for or what they need. Therefore decisions are based on their need – does it match or not. If it doesn’t work out as they expect, they review what they needed in the first place.

These are very broad categories and not everyone sticks to one style – we change based on the situtation. As with most aspects of our personality – we do have a preferred or typical style.

Why is this important?

Two reasons mostly. One to help understand yourself and how you request information from others to make a decision. Two to help you understand what information you need to give to someone else in order for them to make a decision.

Here’s an example:

If you are a research person – ask the person who needs a decision (employee or sales person) to provide you with as much background information as possible including the who, what, where and why. They will be more than happy to give the information if you will make a quicker decision.

If your client is a match person – ask them about their current needs and frustrations so you can match your offering in order to get a decision.

As you know, waiting for someone to make a decision can be frustrating. Help yourself and them by giving them what they need. This will at least get you a quicker decision.

Share your stories of how you have overcome different styles below.