The best way to make personality typology practical is to use it as a language when talking with people.
In her biography about Carl Jung, Barbara Hannah notes that Jung was able to speak the “language” of every type:
Jung was able to speak the “language” of every type. Just as he took a lot of trouble to learn the languages of his patients (English, French, and so on), so he learned to put things into the language of the psychological type to whom he was talking. Not that people can be classified in sharply defined types, but if someone is always concerned with what a thing means (thinking) he just does not understand if you speak in terms of values (feeling), for example.
Jung: A Biography by Barbara Hannah, p. 133
I find it helpful to use John Beebe’s archetypes and definitions of the functions to think through how this would work in real life.
If a person with an INFJ type is discussing travel arrangements with an ISFJ, the conversation won’t go as well if the INFJ uses his “hero” introverted intuition and focuses on how he wants to go to Scotland because he has always felt drawn there and has a sense it will be a meaningful experience even though he can’t explain why. It would be more helpful for the INFJ to use their “parent” extraverted feeling function to present some details he knows will resonate with the ISFJ and help convincer her it is a good destination, such as hotel reviews, airplane ticket costs, possible tours to go on, and so forth.
Conversely, if it is the ISFJ making the suggestion for a travel destination, she would do well to not bog the INFJ down with details about a possible trip, but use her “parent” extraverted feeling function to first describe the vision and big picture of such a trip. The To-Do list can wait until later.
If an ESTJ type wants to discuss a potential bathroom remodel with her INTP, talking about her plans and To Do lists and the best process with her “hero” extraverted thinking function wouldn’t be the most effective. To help get him on board with the idea, she would do well to open the conversation with explaining why it is necessary to remodel the bathroom. She can use her “parent” introverted sensation function to select the right details to help him understand the goal, from which they can then proceed to talk further and get into the planning stage.
It takes work to communicate this way, and isn’t feasible for every interaction, obviously. But when you want to have an important conversation with someone, it’s worth taking a few moments to consider how to communicate with the person in a way that will resonate with the hero function of their personality type.
