The Talking Trait Matches a Candidate to the Right Kind of Position
The talking trait is one of six dimensions in the Expressive and Social quadrant of the Behavioral Assessments. It answers whether a candidate carries the conversation or waits for somebody else to start it. Sales positions and technical positions reward opposite answers.
What Does the Talking Trait Measure?
The talking trait measures the willingness and comfort to verbally express oneself to another or others, along with the willingness to be around people who are not close friends. Described in one phrase, it is the gift of the gab.
It does not measure the ability to communicate, comfort in front of groups, or degree of introversion, though a high score helps with all three.
Why talking problems are invisible in interviews
An interview shows you a candidate talking to a stranger, which tempts you to score this trait by impression alone. What impression misses is what happens after the meeting ends, since a high scorer may talk constantly and be hard to interrupt, which forty polite minutes never reveal.
What the Talking trait helps you evaluate before you hire
A high reading helps with several things this trait does not actually measure: speaking in front of groups, communicating well, assertiveness, confronting people, and making cold calls to strangers. Score each of those on its own trait rather than reading them into this one.
Why the Talking Trait Matters in Hiring
This is the clearest case on the report where the same number recommends one job and rules out another — so the question is never how high the score is, only which desk it is being read for.
Fit, Not Quality
There is no good score here, only a fit. Whatever recommends a candidate for sales is the same reading that argues against a structured technical position.
The Scale Has Limits
The scale stops at 0 and 100, but the person may not. A reading at either end can sit further out than the number itself shows.
Low Scores and Technical Work
Low scorers usually prefer detailed and structured work over people contact roles, and this score makes very little practical difference for any supervisor position either way.
How extreme Talking scores show up on the job
The two ends produce opposite failures, and both of them surface in the first quarter rather than anywhere in the interview.
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How the Talking Trait Is Scored
The talking trait is scored from 0 to 100 across five ranges. Scores from 40 to 60 are reasonably balanced and would not adversely affect any position. Because requirements differ sharply between sales and technical work, role benchmarks are essential for interpreting results accurately.
Extremes of 0 or 100 cause major problems in half of cases, and the scale stops before the person does.
Extreme Low — 0 to 20
Very quiet and prefers writing to talking. Suits accounting or engineering, but is completely unsuitable for sales and almost all people contact.
Low — 21 to 39
Socially quiet and often prefers to listen. Prefers administrative and technical positions over people contact, and this range is unsuitable for sales.
Medium — 40 to 60
Reasonably balanced in verbally expressing themselves and unlikely to talk too much. This range would not adversely affect any position at all.
High — 61 to 90
At ease talking to others, so good for sales, customer service and lecturing. May talk compulsively at times and dominate the room.
Extreme High — 91 to 100
Likes talking to large groups and suits sales, but is compulsive with little interest in listening. Poor for detailed and structured functions.
Talking is one of six traits measured together in the Expressive and Social quadrant
Each trait in this quadrant shapes how candidates engage with other people, and when several read high or low together the combination refines the prediction considerably. Talking is one of six readings that build the Expressive / Social Quadrant, the talkative and spontaneous profile suited to promoting, presenting, lecturing and public relations.
Analyzer / Logical Quadrant
The Analyzer and Logical quadrant lists Talking among its opposite traits, which is why a low reading here often points toward accounting, engineering and technical work.
Listening
The assessment names Listening closely related, and the pairing matters most at the top of this scale, where interest in listening to others drops away entirely.
Warm & Sociable
Warm and Sociable covers ease with unfamiliar people. Talking is usually common among high scorers, so expect the two readings to move together on your profiles.
Communication
Communication sits in Emotional Competency and scores the ability to express ideas. This trait does not measure that ability, though a high reading certainly helps it.
Calling Comfort
Calling Comfort names Talking among its related traits. When talking is also low, candidates may put off even the internal calls that the job actually requires.
Best Practice: Assessment results support your hiring decisions, they do not replace them. Always read the talking trait score alongside the full profile and your role benchmarks before drawing a conclusion.
How to Interpret Talking Results
Position requirements should guide interpretation at every score level, because this trait has no universally good range. Extremes of 0 or 100 cause major problems in half of cases.
What to Do Based on Your Talking Score
Rule out sales and almost all people contact roles. Ask whether they prefer listening or talking in social settings, and require exactly one answer, not both.
Fine for administrative, technical and supervisory work. Rule out sales, and ask what special efforts they take to get ideas across to other people at work.
Safe across the board and unlikely to be the reading that decides anything. Move to the rest of the quadrant and compare against your role benchmark.
Strong for sales, customer service and lecturing. Check Listening before an administrative or engineering placement, since this range is not well suited to structured detail work.
Good for sales, poor for structured detail work. Ask whether keeping conversation going with strangers feels effortless, and check references on whether they interrupt colleagues constantly.
Assessment results support decisions, they do not make them. Always interpret scores in context: the specific role, interview performance, references, and your organization's culture.
The Talking Trait Matters for Every Role You Hire
Because verbal demands differ sharply between positions, benchmarks define what a strong or weak score means for each role. Review the results alongside job-specific benchmarks.
Roles where Talking is especially critical
| Role | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Sales Representative | This is the one trait where the assessment rules a candidate out rather than ranking them, since the two lower ranges close the door on selling. |
| Corporate Trainer | High scorers usually like talking in front of large groups after some practice, which turns the upper range into a genuine asset for lecturing and teaching. |
| Accounting or Engineering | The upper ranges are explicitly poor for accounting, engineering, administrative and similar structured functions, so a strong talker is the wrong fit at that particular desk. |
| Customer Service | The assessment calls the high range good for customer service, though pair it with Listening, because a strong talker struggles to let a customer finish speaking. |
Relevant for all role types
Sales Representative
Accounting Clerk
Customer Service Representative
Software Developer
Account Executive
Data Analyst
Corporate Trainer
Administrative Assistant
If any of these situations sound familiar, this assessment is for you
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Frequently Asked Questions
The talking trait measures the willingness and comfort to verbally express oneself to another or others, and the willingness to be around people who are not close friends. It measures willingness and comfort rather than skill, so read it as a preference for verbal contact rather than a verdict on ability.
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