Extraverted, Sensing, Feeling, Perceiving Approximately 8-10 percent of the population
Outgoing, friendly, and accepting. Exuberant lovers of life, people, and material comforts. Enjoy working with others to make things happen. Bring common sense and a realistic approach to their work, and make work fun. Flexible and spontaneous, adapt readily to new people and environments. Learn best by trying a new skill with other people.
ESFPs enjoy people and have a real zest for living. They are playful and vivacious, and make things more fun for others by their pure and unabashed enjoyment.
Adaptable and easygoing, ESFPs are warm, friendly, and generous. They are extremely sociable and are often “on stage” with others. They enthusiastically and cooperatively I join in activities and games and are usually juggling several activities at once. ESFPs are realistic observers and see and accept things as they are. They tend to trust what they I can hear, smell, taste, touch, and see instead of theoretical explanations. Because they like concrete facts and have good memories for details, they learn best from hands-on experience. Their common sense gives practical abilities with people and things. They prefer to gather information and see what solutions naturally arise.
Tolerant and accepting of themselves and others, ESFPs don’t tend to try to their will on other people. Tactful and sympathetic, ESFPs are generally genuinely liked by many people. They are usually able to get people to adopt their suggestions, so they are good at helping conflicting factions get back together. They seek out the company of others and are good conversationalists. They enjoy helping other people but prefer to assist in real and tangible ways.
Spontaneous and charming, ESFPs are persuasive. They love surprises and finding ways of bringing delight and unexpected pleasure to others.
Possible Blind Spots
ESFPs place such a strong priority on experiencing and enjoying life, they sometimes allow their other responsibilities to suffer. Their constant socialising can interfere and get them into trouble and because they are so easily tempted, they have difficulty disciplining themselves. ESFPs’ tendency to become distracted from finishing the tasks they start can make them lazy. By working to prioritise their activities, and finding a balance between work and play, they will gain a broader perspective and longer-range vision for their lives. Using successful and accepted methods of organisation and time management helps them overcome this natural predisposition.
Their active life keeps them so busy, they fail to plan ahead. This can leave them unprepared for life’s changes that would be easier to cope with if clues of their approach had been noticed. ESFPs need to try to anticipate what might be coming down the road and develop an alternative plan in case things become unpleasant.
ESFPs also tend to make decisions without considering the logical consequences of their actions. Their own personal feelings are trusted and used to the exclusion of more objective data. Friends are so highly valued by ESFPs that they tend to look only at their positive sides. ESFPs need to take a step back to consider the cause and effect of actions and work toward becoming more tough-minded. Saying no will not be nearly as difficult if they do.
– Performer
– Entertainer
– Joker
– Ambassador
– Spontaneity
– Live life for the moment
– Energetic
– Fun
– Outgoing & Social
“Where’s the party?” ESFPs love people, excitement, telling stories and having fun. The spontaneous, impulsive nature of this type is almost always entertaining. And ESFPs love to entertain — on stage, at work, and/or at home. Social gatherings are an energy boost to these “people” people.
SPs sometimes think and talk in more of a spider-web approach. Several of my ESFP friends jump from thought to thought in mid-sentence, touching here or there in a manner that’s almost incoherent to the listener, but will eventually cover the waterfront by skipping on impulse from one piece of information to another. It’s really quite fascinating.
New! ESFPs are attracted to new ideas, new fashions, new gadgets, new ______. Perhaps it’s the newness of life that attracts ESFPs to elementary education, especially to preschool and kindergarten.
ESFPs love to talk to people about people. Some of the most colourful storytellers are ESFPs. Their down-to-earth, often homespun wit reflects a mischievous benevolence.
Almost every ESFP loves to talk. Some can be identified by the twenty minute conversation required to ask or answer a simple factual question.
The Performer
As an ESFP, your primary mode of living is focused externally, where you take things in via your five senses in a literal, concrete fashion. Your secondary mode is internal, where you deal with things according to how you feel about them, or how they fit with your personal value system.
ESFPs live in the world of people possibilities. They love people and new experiences. They are lively and fun, and enjoy being the centre of attention. They live in the here-and-now, and relish excitement and drama in their lives.
ESFPs have very strong inter-personal skills, and may find themselves in the role of the peacemaker frequently. Since they make decisions by using their personal values, they are usually very sympathetic and concerned for other people’s well-being. They’re usually quite generous and warm. They are very observant about other people, and seem to sense what is wrong with someone before others might, responding warmly with a solution to a practical need. They might not be the best advice-givers in the world, because they dislike theory and future-planning, but they are great for giving practical care.
ESFP is definitely a spontaneous, optimistic individual. They love to have fun. If the ESFP has not developed their Thinking side by giving consideration to rational thought processing, they tend to become over-indulgent, and place more importance on immediate sensation and gratification than on their duties and obligations. They may also avoid looking at long-term consequences of their actions.
For the ESFP, the entire world is a stage. They love to be the centre of attention and perform for people. They’re constantly putting on a show for others to entertain them and make them happy. They enjoy stimulating other people’s senses, and are extremely good at it. They would love nothing more than for life to be a continual party, in which they play the role of the fun-loving host.
ESFPs love people, and everybody loves an ESFP. One of their greatest gifts is their general acceptance of everyone. They are upbeat and enthusiastic, and genuinely like almost everybody. An ESFP is unfailingly warm and generous with their friends, and they generally treat everyone as a friend. However, once crossed, an ESFP is likely to make a very strong and stubborn judgment against the person who crossed them. They are capable of deep dislike in such a situation.
The ESFP under a great deal of stress gets overwhelmed with negatives thoughts and possibilities. As an optimistic individual who lives in the world of possibilities, negative possibilities do not sit well with them. In an effort to combat these thoughts, they’re likely to come up with simple, global statements to explain away the problem. These simplistic explanations may or may not truly get to the nature of the issue, but they serve the ESFP well by allowing them to get over it.
ESFPs are likely to be very practical, although they hate structure and routine. They like to “go with the flow”, trusting in their ability to improvise in any situation presented to them. They learn best with “hands-on” experience, rather than by studying a book. They’re uncomfortable with theory. If an ESFP hasn’t developed their intuitive side, they may tend to avoid situations which involve a lot of theoretical thinking, or which are complex and ambiguous. For this reason, an ESFP may have difficulty in school. On the other hand, the ESFP does extremely well in situations where they’re allowed to learn by interacting with others, or in which they “learn by doing”.
ESFPs have a very well-developed appreciation for aesthetic beauty, and an excellent sense of space and function. If they have the means, they’re likely to have to have many beautiful possessions, and an artfully furnished home. In general, they take great pleasure in objects of aesthetic beauty. They’re likely to have a strong appreciation for the finer things in life, such as good food and good wine.
The ESFP is a great team player. He or she is not likely to create any problems or fuss, and is likely to create the most fun environment possible for getting the task done. ESFPs will do best in careers in which they are able to use their excellent people skills, along with their abilities to meld ideas into structured formats. Since they are fast-paced individuals who like new experiences, they should choose careers which offer or require a lot of diversity, as well as people skills.
ESFPs usually like to feel strongly bonded with other people, and have a connection with animals and small children that is not found in most other types. They’re likely to have a strong appreciation for the beauties of nature as well.
The ESFP has a tremendous love for life, and knows how to have fun. They like to bring others along on their fun-rides, and are typically a lot of fun to be with. They’re flexible, adaptable, genuinely interested in people, and usually kind-hearted. They have a special ability to get a lot of fun out of life, but they need to watch out for the pitfalls associated with living entirely in the moment.