Wouldn't it be great if you could tailor your training to the participants in attendance?  You could highlight key learning points that they are likely to find interesting or useful.  You could also make them aware of watchouts in implementing the skills taught in the course due to their "known tendencies".

While every person is unique, common categories of personality or behavioral styles have been identified.  Depending on the specific assessment tool used, typically 4-5 styles are used to describe personality.  Entire courses such as "Understanding DiSC" are devoted to measuring and understanding these styles, but the actual assessment can be done quickly.

I have found it helpful to use a quick personality assessment tool during training workshops to help people understand how their behavioral tendencies will help or hinder them with topics we are covering.  The assessment tool I use only takes about 5 minutes to complete, 5 minutes to score, and 10 minutes to review the tendencies of each style.  It has been adapted from an online assessment tool once used on John Smalley's DNA of Relationships web site and reused with permission.

The four personalities identified are closely associated with DiSC styles.  A brief summary of each is included below.

1. Lion (Dominance) - bottom line, take charge, assertive, takes no prisoners
2. Monkey (Influence) - energetic, persuasive, fun-loving, not interested in details
3. Golden Retriever (Steadiness) - team player, peace maker, dependable, gives in easily
4. Beaver (Conscientious) - organized, detailed, task oriented, hard to please

I typically administer the assessment and review the personality styles very early in the training session.  This allows me to "personalize" the training by referencing the animal styles and their tendencies.  Let's say for example that I am discussing teamwork and allowing each team member the opportunity to provide input.  I might add, "This will come naturally for you Golden Retrievers, but you Lions will have to work at it."  If the topic at hand is setting priorities and scheduling tasks, I would say, "This will come easy for you Beavers but you Monkeys will have to really apply yourselves."

While it is not practical to fully customize our training to each individual in attendance, identifying and using personality styles can enhance the training considerably by personalizing it to the participants.

Additional Resources:

Personality Traits (Word)

Personality Profiles (Excel)