A Communicative Look Into Real

Estate Internships: A Guide

Matthew Penner
June 8, 2010
 Introduction

Purpose
o As a real estate intern for Doug Van Pelt and Thomas Schultheis at Prudential
California Realty, I’d like to share with you the practicality of using
communication concepts such as the Myers Briggs Type Indicator personality
assessment, Coordinated Management of Meaning Theory and In-Group/Out-
Group effects in order to improve communication in the real estate office.

This Guide Will Discuss...

o The Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Personality Assessment
o Origins, Principle Contributors
o How identifying personality types can help you in real estate
o Examples of two personality types
 With examples of observable communication to help you recognize these
personalities in your daily life
o Coordinated Management of Meaning Theory (CMM)
o Theory explained
 Concepts of theory explained
o Examples between myself and my boss illustrating CMM in the real estate office
o How to bring MBTI and CMM together to improve communication within
the real estate office
o An incident of miscommunication in the real estate office
o Described, and further discussed with the integration of MBTI and CMM
o Illustrates how, when used together, MBTI and CMM are more useful than when
used apart
o How future miscommunications can and will be prevented with the use of MBTI
and CMM in combination
o Interpretation of experience as a real estate intern
o In terms of In-Group/Out-Group Effects
o Conclusion
 The Myers Briggs Type Indicator

Origins
o Carl Jung believed that variations
between the behaviors of individuals
were actually orderly and consistent
o Variations in behavior are due to the
different ways in which people perceive
communicative events (Th e My ers & Briggs
Fou ndation, 2010) .
Carl Jung

• MBTI reveals Jung’s 16 personality

types, and when these types are
understood and can be identified in
others, miscommunication can be
greatly reduced in the workplace by
pairing those whose personality
types are compatible to work
together (Th e My ers & Bri ggs F ou ndatio n,
2 01 0) .
Isabel Briggs Myers

o Isabel Briggs Myers and her mother,

Katharine Briggs harnessed Jung’s
Theory of Psychological Types to make
it simple and useful in people’s day to
day lives, including in the workplace
(The M yers & Bri ggs F ou nda ti on , 2 0 10).

Katharine Briggs
 The Myers Briggs Indicator
16 Personalities are Obtained from Preferences on 4 Opposing
Dimensions

o Knowing your MBTI type can help you with career planning.
o You can determine what kind of work you want to do, or why a certain field makes
you comfortable, while others do not (The Myers & Briggs Foundation, 2010).
o Knowing your personality type will help you to understand what types of work
environments will allow you to flourish in your career (The Myers & Briggs Foundation,
2010).
 For example, Introverts prefer putting a lot of detail into their work, and working in
a disruptive environment could hinder their performance.
o Knowing your MBTI type can help you while you are at work as well.
o Understanding your personality preferences allow you to approach how you work in a
manner that best suits your style (The Myers & Briggs Foundation, 2010).
 For example, you will know how to manage your time and how to approach
problem solving in ways that are most comfortable/effective for you.
 My Intern MBTI Type

My Myers Briggs type is

o I am an INTR OVER T
ISTJ
o I enjoy working on projects by myself, often in isolation.
o When in the real estate office, I prefer to have my boss assign me a task
such as write up a mailer, and then leave me alone until I can finish it
and present it to him.

o I am SE NSIN G
o I prefer using skills that I have perfected so that I make as few mistakes
as possible.
o One of my bosses, Doug, first showed me how to do a broker’s price
opinion (BPO) and I began doing them using the techniques he taught
me. At a later date, Thomas, my other boss, showed me a different way
to do BPOs using different techniques. While I understand Thomas’s
method, I still prefer to use the method that I have already mastered.

o I am a TH IN KER when it comes to making decisions

o Unfortunately, I sometimes hurt other’s feelings without realizing it
because I often offer somewhat harsh critiques.
o When proofreading one of Doug’s marketing flyers, I pointed out a
spelling error in a somewhat blunt way, and in retrospect it was rude.
Luckily, Doug only laughed and wasn’t offended.

o I live a J UD GIN G lifestyle

o I rely on lists to organize my tasks very frequently.
o On the job, I make lists of which homes are active listings and which
are closed listings, allowing me to stay organized & finish tasks quickly.

All of these personality traits add up to classify me as what Keirsey calls

an INSPEC TOR (1 9 98 ).
o This means I am
dependable, responsible
and like and uphold structure.
However, I
don’t enjoy people making my
accomplishments the center of
attention (Keirsey, 1998).
o When Doug tells other Realtors how impressed he is by my ambition to get
into the real estate industry so early, I usually get embarrassed and my
inner introvert comes out, as I dislike being the center of attention.
 Doug Van Pelt the Realtor/My Mentor’s MBTI Type

Doug’s Myers Briggs type is

o Doug is an EXTR OVER T
ENFJ
o Doug is outgoing, enjoys phone calls with clients and is often impatient
when it comes to long tasks, such as getting an escrow approved on a sold
home.

o Doug is IN TU ITIVE
o Doug enjoys the challenge of learning new things and enjoys doing
innovative things. This can be seen through Doug’s use of new technology,
such as using an iPhone & enrolling in classes to learn how to efficiently
use computer programs & the Internet to his benefit.
o In addition, he likes presenting overviews of what he has planned for me at
the beginning of each shift, rather than simply assigning one task at a time.

o Doug relies on FEELIN G to make decisions

o Doug is very value driven. While I see other realtors engaging in dishonest
acts for a profit, Doug always tries to make decisions based on what is best
for his client.
o Doug enjoys meeting the needs of others; constantly sending follow up
emails just to make sure his clients or colleagues received something
requested from him.

o Doug lives a JUD GIN G lifestyle

o Doug enjoys making plans. On house tours, he quickly develops the fastest
and easiest way to get through town.
o Doug makes decisions quickly and doesn’t like down time.

This makes Doug what Keirsey calls a TE ACHE R ( 1 99 8).

o This means that Doug has a natural talent for teaching and enjoys helping
others learn. He searches for each person’s potential and tries to bring out
the best he can (Keirsey, 1998).
o Doug is constantly asking me to shadow him so that I can learn what he is
doing, whether it is to learn a basic computer program or to see the inside
of the loan lending process.
Use Coordinated Management of Meaning Theory to
Understand How Meaning is Created in Interactions
and to Reduce Miscommunication in the Workplace

o We use a hierarchy of me aning to interpret our experiences

o The hierarchy consists of multiple levels of meaning
 How we interpret experiences at lower levels of meaning is influenced
by higher, more general, levels of meaning (Wood, 2004).

Level 6: CULTURAL PATTERNS

Level 5: AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Level 4: RELATIONSHIPS

Level 3: EPISODE

Level 2: SPEECH ACT

Level 1:
CONTENT

o We construct our own social realities by trying to understand what is going on in

our interactions, and then create rules to decide what kind of action is appropriate
or necessary (Wood, 2004).

o Essentially, given the hierarchy or meaning, we apply rules that we have

learned in past interactions and decide how to perceive and respond to
others.
Coordinated Management of Meaning Theory
This is what the levels in the hierarchy mean...
 Level 1: C ONTENT
o Content is what is actually being said (Wood, 2004).
o Example: Doug says to me “Go get me coffee intern!”
 Level 2: SPEEC H AC T
o Speech acts provide a context for interpreting content by treating
communication like an action, such as joking or pleading (Wood, 2004).
o Example: Doug laughs after saying, “Go get me coffee intern!”
 Level 3: EPISOD E
o Episodes are situations in which the communication is taking place. For
example, two individuals could be communicating in an episode of “friendly
banter,” or in an episode of a “serious conversation.” In a way, it frames
how you interpret the speech act because if someone jokes during an
episode of “serious conversation,” it can be seen as inappropriate (Wood,
2004).
o Example: Doug and I had just been joking that he should demand more of
me as an intern, thus it was an episode of joking back and forth.
 Level 4: R ELATIONSH IPS
o Relationships define the dynamics of how people interact, which is why you
communicate differently with strangers than with friends (Wood, 2004).
o Example: Since Doug and I have known each other for some time, we are
comfortable joking with each other in our mentor/intern relationship due to
our friendship/friendship relationship.
 Level 5: AUTOBIOGRAPH Y
o The autobiography is how one perceives him or herself, and influences how
they are willing to communicate with others, in turn affecting the meaning
of their messages (Wood, 2004).
o Example: Doug does not perceive himself as a serious person, and
therefore feels comfortable making jokes and being funny.
 Level 6: CU LTURAL P ATTER NS
o Cultural patterns are culturally created rules that allow us to see some
interactions as normal and some as abnormal (Wood, 2004).
o Example: Because Doug and I share many cultural patterns, I recognized
that his use of sarcasm was a normal and common type of interaction.
 Coordinated Management of Meaning Theory

o CMM emphasizes that we use communication r ules to coordinate

meanings in interaction with others (Wood, 2004).

CONSTITUTIVE RULES REGULATIVE RULES

Constitutive rules are learned from Regulative rules are used to
interacting with others and are used determine how to
to understand an event or message. appropriately respond to a
message or event.

o Constitutive Rules reflect the patterns of our social groups and are not universally
accepted, as they vary across different groups and cultures (Wood, 2004).

o Example: I used constitutive rules to understand that Doug was only joking when he
laughed after telling me to get him coffee.

o Regulative Rules come from experience in past interactions that guide us toward
appropriate responses in the future (Wood, 2004).
o Example: I used regulative rules to follow Doug’s sarcastic comment with my own
sarcastic comment as I asked “is there anything else you would like Mr. Van Pelt?”
which I paired with a smirk.
 How do MBTI and CMM work together?
o By understanding both MBTI and CMM, the integration of the two will
make it easier to communicate!
 MBTI identifies 16 personality
types.

 CMM says that we interpret

meaning through the hierarchy
of meaning.

 CMM also says that each person

interprets meaning differently,
depending on how they analyze
each level of the hierarchy of
meaning and their rules.

 Using the personality types

presented in the MBTI, we can
predict how individuals will
interpret meaning in the different
levels of CMM’S hierarchy. This
allows us to tailor messages to
individuals in the workplace
depending on their personality
type in order to reduce
miscommunication.

 For example, those who are “N’s”

see situations as a “big picture,” while those who are “S’s” see situations in bits an
pieces, and could experience miscommunication on the “Episode” level of CMM’s
hierarchy.

 Miscommunication can be greatly reduced when we understand how

to use MBTI and CMM together.
What Happens When Miscommunication Occurs?

Miscommunication in the real estate office.

 On a particular occasion, Doug asked me to print out a template for one of

the mailers we were planning to send out to a neighborhood. Because we had
just been talking about the envelope design, I assumed he meant that he
wanted the template for the envelope printed. However, when I returned with
the printed envelope, Doug looked at me and clarified that he wanted the
actual mailer template printed.

Analyzing the Miscommunication

 Using the MBTI and CMM together,

it is possible to see how this
miscommunication occurred.

 The miscommunication holds its roots

in the episode level of CMM’s
hierarchy of meaning, caused by
Doug’s and mine’s differences in
the MBTI personalities.

 Because of Doug’s MBTI profile as an ENFJ, he tends to see the big picture (N)
of things, while I tend to see the bit s and pieces (S) (The Myers & Bri ggs

Fou ndatio n, 2010) . In this particular example, I saw the episode in fragments and
when Doug asked me to print the template, I assumed he was referring only to the
envelope portion of the discussion since we had just been talking about it. However,
because Doug focuses on the big picture, he saw the entire discussion and request
as though we had been talking about the mailer in the bigger picture, and that the
discussion of the envelope was included as a mere aspect, not one of the focal
points of the conversation.
 In order to understand why the miscommunication occurred, the use of both the
MBTI and CMM Theory together is more beneficial than using just one or the other.

 By using both concepts to illustrate the nature of the miscommunication, it is easy to

see that Doug and I perceive the different levels of CMM’s hierarchy of meaning
differently due to our MBTI personality types.

How Future Miscommunications Can and Are Being Prevented

 Knowing both CMM and the MBTI, and knowing how to use them together allows
me to evaluate those with whom I work to try to figure out which personality type
they are.

 By recognizing Doug’s tendency to be a “big picture” thinker, I have been attempting

to put myself in his place when he requests things of me to make sure I am
accurately fulfilling his requests.
o Because I am a “T,” I think that the most
logical thing to do is to put myself in
Doug’s shoes, making our communication
more efficient. As an “I,” it gives me
more time to perform my tasks alone
because Doug doesn’t have to constantly
explain what he is expecting of me.

o By knowing my other co-worker’s

personality types as well, I can estimate
how they will interpret certain messages,
allowing me to custom tailor a message
to different individuals. This ensures that I
am doing my best within the theoretical
limits of CMM and the MBTI to reduce
miscommunication while being a real
estate intern.
 The Real Estate Intern vs. Established Realtors
(In-Group, Out-Group Effects)

 Communication scholars define In-G roups as a collection of individuals with

whom a person feels he or she belongs (West & Turner, 2007).

 Out-Groups can be defined as groups to which a person feels he or she does

not belong (West & Turner, 2007).

 Individuals tend to either join groups they feel comfortable in, or make their
existing groups more enjoyable experiences so that they can gain or maintain a
positive social identity (West & Turner, 2007).

 Upon taking on the role as a real

estate intern, I felt as a member
of the out-group looking in on the
in-group of professional Realtors.

 It was daunting to hear members of

the in-group using industry jargon that
I did not understand.

 I continue to search for ways to

become a member of the in-group
as best I can without becoming a
licensed Realtor.

 The miscommunication with my boss

regarding the template, while trivial,
frightened me as I believed it further
detached me from the in-group because
of the mistake I had made.
 How Does a Communication Major Perform as a
Real Estate Intern?

 This guide has presented how a background in communication, and

knowledge of communication tools such as Coordinated Management of
Meaning Theory as well as The Myers Briggs Type Indicator, can help one
become an important team member and a member of the in-group.

o Understanding CMM and the MBTI, and knowing how to use them in
conjunction, allows me to work efficiently as possible miscommunication is
reduced, and allows me to become more a part of the in-group.
 For Example, knowing how to use CMM and the MBTI together will
allow me to lessen the chance that the type of miscommunication
that was described above will happen again.
• In effect, I will complete tasks more efficiently; I will use fewer
resources in completing these tasks and will be available for
more assignments—meaning I will take away more useful
experience from being a real estate intern.
 References

Keirsey, D. (1998). Please understand me II. Del Mar, CA: Prometheus

Nemesis Book Company
Myers Briggs, I. (1962). Introduction to type. Consulting Psychologists
Press, Inc
The Myers & Briggs Foundation. (2010). MBTI basics. Retrieved from
http://www.myersbriggs.org/my%2Dmbti%2Dpersonality%2Dtype/
mbti%2Dbasics/
West, R., & Turner, L. H. (2007). Introducing communication theory:
Analysis and application. New York, NY: McGraw Hill
Wood, J. T. (2004). Communication theories in action: An introduction.
Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth