Understanding people in business doesn’t require a face-to-face meeting or a formal test. You can learn a lot about a person’s DISC style simply by observing how they write. Their emails, messages, website content, or even LinkedIn posts often give away subtle (and not so subtle) clues about their personality preferences.
Being able to identify a person’s DISC profile from their written communication gives you a major edge — in negotiations, sales, recruitment, partnerships, and internal team dynamics.
Understanding People In Business. What Is DISC — And Why Does It Matter in Text-Based Communication?
DISC is a behavioural framework made up of four styles:
- D: Dominance — focused, direct, task-driven
- I: Influence — outgoing, expressive, people-focused
- S: Steadiness — calm, supportive, consistent
- C: Conscientiousness — analytical, structured, careful
While DISC is often associated with assessment tools, it’s just as powerful when applied observationally. You don’t always need someone to take a formal test. People naturally reveal their DISC tendencies in how they:
- Structure their sentences
- Use (or avoid) emotion
- Prioritise certain types of information
- Ask (or don’t ask) questions
Once you get good at reading these cues, you can adjust your tone, message and expectations to improve your chances of alignment and success.
Why It’s Worth Learning to Read DISC From Content
- 93% of communication in business is now written, especially in remote teams and digital-first companies (Statista).
- Managers who understand personality traits improve team trust by 54% (Gallup).
- Written miscommunication is the top cause of project failure in cross-functional teams (PMI, 2023).
Learning how to spot DISC preferences in writing helps you:
- Anticipate objections
- Choose the right language in a pitch or proposal
- Avoid conflict in sensitive discussions
- Create better onboarding or hiring journeys
How Each DISC Type Writes — And What to Look For
Dominance (D)
- Tone: Direct, to the point, action-oriented
- Clues: Short messages, bullet points, minimal fluff
- Language: “Let’s move fast”, “Need results”, “What’s the ROI?”
- Behavioural sign: Will skip greetings or pleasantries
- How to reply: Get straight to the point. Emphasise outcomes.
Influence (I)
- Tone: Enthusiastic, upbeat, expressive
- Clues: Exclamation marks, emojis, use of humour or storytelling
- Language: “Excited to connect!”, “Amazing idea!”, “Let’s brainstorm”
- Behavioural sign: Overly optimistic tone, name-dropping, social references
- How to reply: Be friendly, use positive language, build rapport
Steadiness (S)
- Tone: Warm, thoughtful, steady
- Clues: Longer emails with context and care, often avoid abrupt statements
- Language: “I hope you’re well”, “Just checking in”, “Happy to help”
- Behavioural sign: Soft tone, consistency in phrasing, reassurance-seeking
- How to reply: Be patient, show appreciation, reduce pressure or urgency
Conscientiousness (C)
- Tone: Formal, structured, detail-focused
- Clues: Data references, perfect grammar, long paragraphs
- Language: “According to”, “Based on the analysis”, “We must ensure”
- Behavioural sign: Risk-averse, tends to ask clarifying questions
- How to reply: Provide detail, stay factual, avoid ambiguity or emotional appeals
How to Practise Identifying DISC in Real Life
1. Emails
- Read the first and last lines closely — D types will often skip them, I types will overdo them
- Look at how they phrase requests — C types will ask questions before giving opinions, D types won’t
2. LinkedIn Profiles
- D: Result-driven headlines (“Scaling startups to $10M”)
- I: Vibrant, personal stories (“Helping people fall in love with branding”)
- S: People-first, community-driven bios (“Supporting teams to thrive”)
- C: Credentials and detail-rich summaries (“Certified PMP | Lean Six Sigma | Excel wizard”)
3. Websites
- Use of visuals, structure, tone, and CTA language is often influenced by the founder’s DISC type
- Look at ‘About’ pages — especially storytelling vs bullet point vs data-heavy copy
Tools That Help You Read DISC Without Guesswork
If you want help identifying a person’s DISC type quickly and with more certainty, try using the DISC Analyser by Blue Sky Thinking.
It lets you paste in emails, upload documents, or input LinkedIn URLs — and gives you a fast, clear behavioural breakdown of the person behind the text. You also get suggestions on how best to communicate with them.
This is especially useful for:
- Sales teams preparing for meetings
- Founders planning investor communication
- HR teams reviewing candidate profiles
- Anyone negotiating deals or handling clients
Ready to Improve How You Communicate?
Understanding people in business starts with how they speak — or write. If you want to improve your ability to persuade, negotiate, lead or collaborate, start by reading the writing between the lines.
Use the DISC Analyser to try it instantly.
And if you want to understand your own style first, take the full DISC Assessment here.
Small changes in how you write and respond can create major improvements in your outcomes. DISC gives you the lens to do just that.