A lot of people are afraid to say what they want.
That’s why they don’t get what they want.
—Madonna
Can knowing your personality type improve your writing success?
ESTP writers are action-oriented. They focus on facts to solve concrete problems. They want goals and expectations to be established up front. They have little regard for rules that don’t help them meet their objectives.
The ESTP personality type is one of 16 identified by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, a popular psychometric instrument used to determine how people prefer to gather information and make decisions. The initials ESTP stand for the following:
E: Extraversion preferred to introversion
ESTPs get their energy from people and activity in their external world. Spending time alone can leave them listless and bored. They enjoy interacting with a large group of friends and acquaintances. They generally act before reflecting.
S: Sensation preferred to intuition
ESTPs are concrete thinkers, placing more trust in past experience than in flashes of insight. They’re more interested in sensory data than in the patterns perceived by the unconscious mind. ESTPs tend to be intellectually content—they want to enjoy the world.
T: Thinking preferred to feeling
ESTPs prefer to use their thinking function when making decisions. They place more emphasis on the impersonal rule of logic than on the effect that actions have on people. They tend to be skeptical in evaluating ideas, whether their own or someone else’s.
P: Perception preferred to judgment
ESTPs like to keep their options open. They enjoy beginning new projects and exploring opportunities as they arise. ESTPs think in terms of possibilities rather than likelihoods.
Are you an ESTP writer? If so, the following information may give you some insight into how temperament influences your writing style. Use these insights to help you play to your strengths and compensate for your natural blind spots.
Writing Process of the ESTP
ESTPs may approach a writing project in the following ways:
- Begin by assembling a wide variety of facts. This gives them a detailed view of the topic. Then, they weed out what doesn’t fit.
- Seek clarity, and organize their material logically. Naturally competitive, they may enjoy writing about subjects that showcase their skills at troubleshooting or negotiating.
- Build their topic around a visual element. This might be a chart, a graphic—even a quotation. They may follow a template that’s worked in the past, rather than inventing something new. Just be sure to give a new slant on the old idea to keep it fresh.
- Prefer writing in an active environment where they can shape their ideas by discussing them with others. You may also want to use a voice recorder so you don’t have to work shackled to a computer.
Potential Blind Spots of the ESTP
ESTPs may experience the following pitfalls:
- May procrastinate because they perform well under the pressure of a looming deadline. However, ESTPs don’t enjoy working quietly for long stretches. Be sure to schedule frequent breaks so you can re-energize.
- Enjoy factual analysis but have little enthusiasm for theories and abstractions. Orient your topic toward achieving results. Include a call to action.
- May fail to consider the audience. Where appropriate, incorporate a human element into your writing to help readers connect to the topic. Use your powers of persuasion to sway others to your point of view. Ask someone you trust to review your writing to make sure you’ve achieved the desired effect.
Remember, there’s no right or wrong approach to writing. Each individual is unique, so don’t let generalities limit you. Do what works best for you.
Do you have any tips for ESTP writers? Leave a comment and share your experience.
Also, for more information on this subject, check out the sources below.
Sources:
Write from the Start by Ann B. Loomis
What Type Am I? by Renee Baron
Your Personality Type and Writing: ESTP from the Villanova University website
Madonna Quotes at About.com
ENFJ – ENFP – ENTJ – ENTP – ESFJ –ESFP – ESTJ –ESTP
INFJ – INFP – INTJ – INTP – ISFJ – ISFP – ISTJ – ISTP
Image Copyright: gontar / 123RF Stock Photo
Write with Personality 
I don’t know about you, but as an INTP, Hemingway, Bret Easton Ellis, Marquis de Sade, and L. Ron Hubbard strike me as ESTP writers.
Thanks for commenting—it’s an interesting question. As I wrote in the post “What does your writing say about you?” (http://wp.me/pwENu-sH), you can’t necessarily gauge someone’s personality type based on their writing. Especially in fiction, the narrative voice is a construct—part of the art of storytelling. A skilled craftsman like Ernest Hemingway could have taken on any persona he wanted in his writing. Even if his persona was an ESTP, that doesn’t mean *he* was an ESTP. That’s why the concept of “own best fit” exists in the MBTI. Only the individual can determine what type is the best fit for them.
Well, judging from Hemingway’s personal life of adventure and all, he seemed to thrive on new experiences, which to me, strikes me as a dominant Se function. I would have to go for ESTP for Ernest Hemingway.