Personality Plus Review

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

‘Personality Plus‘ is a book written by Florence Littauer.  Florence is a self-help writer and speaker.  She and her husband developed the Personality Plus system based on Hippocrates’s theory of the Four Temperments.  Dani Johnson also has a system based on this that she calls Gems.

Personality Plus

Personality Plus categorizes people into four groups:  Choleric, Melancholy, Sanguine and Phlagmatic.  In Florence’s system, you can have characteristics of more than one group, while in Hippocrates’s theory you could only belong to one.

The main reason this is important to people in Network Marketing is because you will try to recruit all four types of people.  In order to do this, you need to be able to speak to them in a way that they can understand you.  I will not be able to tell you everything you need to know about the four personality types in a blog so if you are interested, you should read the book.

Strengths of the Four Personality Plus Groups

Choleric:  leader, optimist, likes change, dominant, strong, decisive and independant

Melancholy:  thinking, introvert, pessimist, analytical, talented, creative and genius prone

Sanguine:  social, entertaining, extrovert, talker, optimist and emotional

Phlagmatic:  watcher, pessimist, low-key, easygoing, consistant and sympathetic

Personality Plus Weaknesses

To get the weaknesses of the personality types in Personality Plus you will have to read the book.  Not only are they given but Florence also gives you ways to correct them.  So once you find your personality type, you will learn how to turn your weaknesses into strengths.

I totally enjoyed reading Personality Plus, not only to learn more about why and how I tick (and it was pretty accurate), but also how others did.  After reading it, I found I could pick out the different personality types in my co-workers.  It was an eye opener.  Once I started talking to them in their language, we were able to communicate better.  I plan to read it again and again.

The Personality Plus Test

When you take the test you are given 42 sets of four words.  You have to pick the word in each set that best describes you.  Some of them were difficult and in a few, I found I went for the one most like me even if I didn’t think it really applied.  You can take the test as you are now, but you can also take it based on you as a child.  You will find how much you changed as time went on – or if you changed.  Sometimes life happens and someone who was once one type will change and become another.

The test can be taken online by clicking here!

Why You Should Read Personality Plus

You should read Personality Plus if you want to understand people.  You will learn how to communicate with people by their personality type and it will make your life much easier.  If you are a network marketer, you know that you need to find a small niche to specialize in.  If you did that and then spoke only to one personality type, you would be cutting out 3/4 of your small niche.  That wouldn’t be a very profitable thing to do!!

Personality Plus is an interesting read.  I had trouble putting it down.  You may not be like me – I’m a Peaceful Phlagmatic – so reading may be to calm for you.  Personality Plus is available in paperback, kindle and audio so you can play it when you do something else . . . like driving.  I personally got the Kindle version for my iPad.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t do any bookmarks or highlighting on it so it’s hard for me to find references.  I would not suggest doing that even if it is cheaper to purchase than the book.

Mary Riley