Use Case: Bridging Affective and Neutral Communication Styles

🎯 Use Case: How I Learned to Communicate Better With My Neutral Manager (as Someone High in Affective Communication)
I was struggling with how to connect with my manager. I’m someone who communicates with emotion, I show enthusiasm, I care deeply, and I express myself openly. But my manager? Very different. They're calm, contained, and not big on emotional cues. I wasn’t sure if I was doing something wrong, or if I was just... too much.

Here’s how I worked through it using Marlee:

🖥 Step 1: I first generated a 1:1 Board
I opened my 1:1 Board with my manager.

💡 Step 2: I Explored the Communication Motivation Directly
In the board, I went to the Motivation Group: Communication, selected our combination (Affective–Neutral), and hit Generate Insights.

Boom, the description hit me instantly.

"Oh... this is 100% accurate."

It helped me understand that my manager isn't being distant or cold. They just naturally prefer to keep communication calm, to-the-point, and emotionally steady. It’s not personal.

🤔 Step 3: So… What Do I Do With This?
Understanding the difference was one thing — but I still didn’t know how to change the way I communicate. I wanted to be myself, but also be effective.

So I went to Ask Marlee.

I had written a vague question earlier, like "My name - manager name - communication"… which didn’t get me very far.

This time, I typed a proper question:

“How do I better communicate with [my manager's name]?”

And that changed everything.

✅ Step 4: I Got Practical, Actionable Advice
Marlee gave me direct, helpful suggestions — small shifts I could try right away, like:

Being more concise and factual in updates

Pausing before reacting emotionally

Framing feedback in a calm, objective way

I remember thinking:

“I will absolutely try this. Oh, this is so helpful.”

💬 What Changed
I didn’t have to stop being who I am, I just started matching my message to how my manager receives it best. And that made all the difference.

🌱 Key Takeaway
If you're emotionally expressive and your manager isn't, it doesn't mean you're incompatible; you just need to understand the style gap and adjust your approach. Marlee helped me go from “Why is this so hard?” to “Okay, I can work with this.”