writing styles in the Enneagram

deepen awareness by focusing on your written communication

as with speaking, paying attention to our writing style can deepen our self-awareness, and we can also practice integration and maturing using writing as a vehicle. try the following type-specific suggestions as practices while writing, and notice what arises as you do so (does it feel awkward, impossible, disingenuous…?).

with practice, the suggestions below can become integrated, leading to communication that is clearer, in other words, less distorted by habituated personality patterns.

Enneagram type 8

Enneagram type 9

Enneagram type 1
  • make sentences less commanding by varying the sentence structure and using less directive language.
  • specifically invite a response.
  • be more personal and less formal.
  • reduce the number of affirmations.
  • make your position and ideas clear and explicit.
  • don’t use writing to express your anger, use the phone or have a face-to-face conversation.
  • delete, then change language that implies “should”, “ought”, or black and white thinking.
  • use words that suggest flexibility and receptivity rather than categorical thinking.
  • experiment with language that encourages multiple points of view and input.

Enneagram type 2

Enneagram type 3

Enneagram type 4
  • focus on yourself as much as the other person.
  • eliminate flattering comments or, when angry, strident words.
  • use fewer superlatives (like “great”, “terrific”) and avoid capitalizing words for emphasis.
  • refer less often to your own actions and achievements or to yourself.
  • neither inflate nor understate (false humility) the importance of your actions.
  • use language that invites a response.
  • reduce the number of self-referencing words (“i”, “me”, “mine”, “myself”)
  • use more objective, less personalized language.
  • focus the writing more on others than on yourself.

Enneagram type 5

Enneagram type 6

Enneagram type 7
  • make short or terse writing more elaborate and make long writing more concise.
  • include feelings as well as thoughts.
  • be explicit if you want something from the recipient.
  • when distressed, make sure to still communicate warmth.
  • wait for a response before you write again.
  • reduce the number of words conveying fear, anxiety, and worry.
  • elaborate on feelings and concerns.
  • use complete sentences and proper punctuation.
  • focus on the recipient as well as on yourself.

summarized from the work of Ginger Lapid-Bogda, Don Riso & Russ Hudson