The role of prosody and personality type on effective team formation

Effective communication has always remained one of the most crucial features of every successful project. Misinterpretation of instructions within large-scale projects can cost millions, not just in reworks, but also through compounded unnecessary delays in re-communicating messages among all teams in the supply chain. This paper discusses prosody and personality types and their roles within communication. Poor team formation has been noted to have a strong correlation with unsuccessful project communication. Prosody has an impact the exchange of information, but it is not widely researched or applied within the wider construction sector. The reviewed literature offers an insight into the effects that prosody and personality types have on communication and team cohesion. A mixed methods methodology is adopted in this study. Interviews with senior project and construction managers were conducted to test the importance of correct team formation. Utilising the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and investigating the role that prosody must play in interpretation of communication, data from a quantitative pilot study highlights the need to understand the personalities behind the teams in advance in order to deliver a successful project and effective team. Data analysis shows the majority of those surveyed within the engineering discipline have Extraversion (E - 77%) and Judging (J - 77%) characteristics, yet this is the least common type among general population. The research offers discussion on finding unity between team formation and successful project communication.