P E R S O N A L I T Y   6 H

ESTP -- The Promoter

When the word "entrepreneur" was first used, chances are very good that the person the coiner of the word had in mind was an ESTP. Of all the types, ESTPs are probably the best at observing their fellow human beings for fun and profit.

Where the ISTP manipulates things, the ESTP is the master manipulator of people. It is a testiment to the skill of the typical ESTP that most people know that they are being manipulated and don't mind it, because it is done with such adroitness and sense of fun. When the ESTP wants something from you, more often than not you will find yourself happy to hand it over. The typical ESTP is such a charmer, not because he or she possesses any special talent of empathy, but due to a highly-developed awareness of the signals people give off. Even on the telephone, a talented ESTP can figure out just what it is that will persuade you.

ESTPs are masters of their social environments. If an ESTP invites you out for dinner, you can usually count on waitstaff to know the ESTP by name. (And more often than not, the ESTP will be on a first name basis with the staff as well.) Accomplished storytellers, ESTPs are not above embellishing the truth in order to make the story more interesting, even when the unadorned truth would be fascinating enough.

Those who work or live with ESTPs on a long-term basis, however, may find this breezy attitude somewhat wearing. ESTPs, who relish their independence as much as any other Perceivers, tend to develop many shallow acquaintances but few deep relationships. Consequently, spouses and coworkers can sometimes feel as though they are kept around solely for their utility in the ESTP's many schemes, and that they never come to truly know the ESTP any better than when they first met.

ESTPs can appear unpredictable, as well. Like ESFPs, if life begins to see too predictable to an ESTP, they may begin to act in ways that make life more "interesting," sometimes gambling not just their own resources but those of their employer or their family as well. They may be able to charm you into liking it for a while, but eventually it becomes important for ESTPs to demonstrate that they are capable of accepting and fulfilling responsibilities. Other types can help by giving the ESTP the freedom to do so. Nagging will only induce the ESTP's avoidance behavior; he or she will simply tune out interpersonal problems. And because the ESTP is so good at hiding unhappiness under a barrage of good-natured extraversion, only those who are most intimately acquainted with the ESTP will have any notion of how despondent he or she may be.

An ESTP who has settled down somewhat, though, is likely to be as happy most of the time as he or she appears. And when an ESTP is happy, so is everyone else!

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