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[ENFP] How to spot an ENFP a mile off

CzeCze

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^^ Hmm, I guess I didn't mean that she doesn't seem like an ENFP at all to me, just that if I were watching this clip of her behavior without knowing it's an MB type video, I would just assume it's another young bubblyy girl on YouTube. I generally don't type people I see IRL or TV characters and especially with just a few minutes of observation. The only types that I usually guess after observing someone is I vs. E and T vs. F.
 

SillySapienne

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I've never met an ENFP in real life.

But when people meet/encounter me, I seem to leave an impression.

Much to my chagrin, my company rarely, if ever, goes unnoticed, (this sucks when it comes to my inevitably botched attempts at "silently" ditching class).

I know that I have a lot of energy.

And by most accounts, I am an "intense" person.

Ever since I was a kid people have commented on my "presence"

I dunno, I'm real and I am naturally inclined to keeping it real.
 

CzeCze

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^^ That's why we likes yous :yes:

Keep it real, grrl! You gotta represent south cali! Hahahaha.
 

SillySapienne

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^^ Hmm, I guess I didn't mean that she doesn't seem like an ENFP at all to me, just that if I were watching this clip of her behavior without knowing it's an MB type video, I would just assume it's another young bubblyy girl on YouTube. I generally don't type people I see IRL or TV characters and especially with just a few minutes of observation. The only types that I usually guess after observing someone is I vs. E and T vs. F.
Same here, I never type anyone, ever!!! Except my ex in retrospect.

I've worked with a lot of teens, and though the more "popular" ones can often be bubbly, they're ultimately lacking in sincerity/intelligence/depth.

She might be concealing her level of intelligence and depth in an attempt to be more socially accepted.

In the circumstances where I've found myself sticking out in an environment, as being awkwardly and obviously more knowledgeable/smarter than the surrounding crowd, I've tended to deflect this attention by being overtly crass in my speech, and, or goofy in my delivery/appearance as a means to obscure or reconcile the divide.

In high school, I happened to be predominantly surrounded by intelligent people, so I rarely had to conceal myself. In college, however, boy, oh boy how often am I forced to hold back...from the professors, no less!!!

Tangent: Professors who hate to be asked questions that they cannot answer, or to be reminded that their Phd is a just a piece of paper that "certifies" their expertise in a given field, whereas their neuronal network of knowledge, or lack thereof, acts as the definitive factor of whether or not they are in fact intelligent, drive me NUTZ!!!!!

They can't stand to imagine being anyone but the "Smartest", they view their students and the public at large, as inferiors, and they intellectually jack off to this "fact".

The pretentious intelligentsia make me one to vomit on myself and through feces at 'em.

If I had a megaphone and a motive to care, I'd yell at their smugly faces..

"One's ability to work and study hard via rote memorization and precise regurgitation does not make one smart."

Noisy parrots, the whole lot of 'em!!!
 
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Kirkadonna

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how can i spot an enfp a mile off????Geez.My best friend is an enfp.Actually there are lots of enfps i know.
It should be easy, because of thee big things.
1.They are talking.To someone.Every minute, every second.I rarely see them alone.
2.They have a warm and modulated voice.They laugh a lot and do lots of facial expresions.
3.they do a lot of very weird things.Stupid things, but funny(to those who know them).
i noticed that when an enfp is bored it starts doing things out of nowhere(like starting to sing carols in the middle of the summer/ or give me a punch in the middle of our economics class).Enfps tend to show off and make a fool of themselves, but only when surrounded by friends.
They cannot stand routine or taking orders/comments from others. And they are impulsive and don't think too much before doing something.

And they break a lot of things.Unintentionaly:violin:
 

SillySapienne

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^ besides laughing a lot, having many facial expressions, exhibiting occasional weirdness, and disdain for the routine. Your description seems grossly inaccurate.

Are you sure they are in fact ENFPs?
 

persse

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No he/she isn't.I think it describes me well. i drop things on the floor, and i can't stand critics.
 

alcea rosea

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I liked this one
Youtube - ENFP

The girl there says: "I'm basically grazy, grazy, random, a bit grazy, weird and grazy"

I think that statement tells it all. Three times grazy + random + weird. :rofl1:
 

LostInNerSpace

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Do you enfp's consistently seem to make bad relationship decisions? Enter into a relationship that was not right, break off a relationship that probably was right, reject a person only to regret it later?

I am a trader. I can consistently pick tops and bottoms the markets correctly. I amaze myself at my ability to do that.:shocking: It comes partly from my very strong Ne. I've spent a few years now obsessively studying the markets.:coffee: But I almost always screw up my trades when I apply judgment to my perception.:doh: What I described above in my question I will do with my trading. This is why I have decided I will do better if I leave the judgment calls to my computer.

Do you have similar problems with people?
 

Butterfly

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The best way to tell an ENFP is to put some bacon in your back pocket while you mingle with people of a night. When you get home, check the bacon, if tiny bite marks have appeared, chances are you talked to an ENFP sometime that night.

:shock: You saying she's a mouse?? :huh:
 

Priam

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I liked this one
Youtube - ENFP

The girl there says: "I'm basically grazy, grazy, random, a bit grazy, weird and grazy"

I think that statement tells it all. Three times grazy + random + weird. :rofl1:

Random sidebar: Oh my god! That video! It's Ricky Gervais in young girl form... the face, the expression, the vocal patterns. Eerie.
 

chatoyer

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A mile off? That's too far, I'll take it more loosely, as "from a distance":

--Talkative and playful with dramatic, frequent facial expressions

--Fidgety, scattered, losing things

--Something unusual in our appearance, but may be subtle, we (girls especially) usually don't dress in the no-nonsense, practical, functional way of SJs & NTs

--Creative & artsy & multifaceted--this leaks out in our diversity of interests, in our choice of friends, in ways we spend our time

--Direct attention to the person we're talking to, we can come off intense if in our interrogator-journalist mode (it's a compliment if we're mining you for information, you've intrigued us in some way)

--Breezy, cheerful demeanor--if we're down or sick, you usually won't see it unless you're a trusted friend or family member

Up close:

--Meandering tangential conversation chock-full of crazy analogies

--A genuine connection, we adapt to the person we're talking to

--If we show vulnerability in sharing our negative emotions or in an interpersonal failure, know that you are in the inner circle of friends--most people just see the sunny, optimistic, irreverent side

With NTs:

--I'm more likely to share my possibly controversial views because I know they are not easily offended & they are not threatened by arguing (unless the topic is emotional!)

--I poke fun at them, I mine for information for sure if I see unique qualities I like in them

Regarding poor judgment in relationships:

Can happen because ENFPs naturally see potentials in people, if we see unique qualities we like, & we're able to connect with the person, we may overlook negative features--much depends on the value system of the ENFP--also it gets particularly dangerous if the person appears to get us, we can get along with all sorts of people, but it's the rare person that truly understands us & doesn't judge us.
 

ferrisbueller

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Do you enfp's consistently seem to make bad relationship decisions? Enter into a relationship that was not right, break off a relationship that probably was right, reject a person only to regret it later?

I don't think this happens. Most ENFP's are reluctant to leave relationships casually. We do have problems applying judgement to our perceptions, but that judgement doesn't necessarily lead to bad relationship decisions.
 

nemo

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My best friend in high school was an ENFP -- tested and everything. Actually, he was the one who got me started into all this MBTI nonsense.

Anyhow, I don't have much experience with ENFPs besides him, but here are some of the biggest characteristics I noticed with him. Maybe they're ENFP things, maybe not... so take it with a grain of salt.

- The stereotype of a bubbly, touchy-feely ADD type didn't totally fit him. In fact he'd often lapse into cold, logical analysis. His attitude towards logic, however, was vastly different from mine, and we've talked about this in great deal.

To him, logic reflects our finite understanding of human affairs, and certain gaps in it are subjective and had to be filled in. He steadfastly adhered to whatever his "inner logic" told him, but his understanding was always under revision, and his increasing understanding of humans were what filled those holes.

To me, logic is beyond any interpretation of it. So I typically dealt with people much more impersonally. I remember a conversation we had regarding a mutual friend who was having some relationship troubles:

Him: "Nemo, you can't just say that to her. You're probably right, but she'll never respond to it -- think of how she feels. People don't behave like circuits and switchboards."
Me: "Too f***ing bad. The truth doesn't care what she thinks of it."

So while he was capable of being and appearing to be super logical, I think the way he internalized it was fundamentally different from me.

(Now that I think of it, this may be an Fi vs Ti thing.)

- He was extremely adamant about adhering to whatever his personal "inner logic" (I called it "voodoo logic") told him was right. And if any of this was challenged in a mean-spirited sort of way -- look out. He would go mentally ape-shit and and release all kinds of intellectual kung-fu'ery on you for displaying such ignorance.

The sort of irony in our relationship was that between the two of us, he was definitely seen as the more aggressive and challenging if he was confronted or ganged up on. He would push back much harder than me. He had more of an emotional investment, I think. But at the same time, he had a much more sophisticated sense of empathy and was capable of coming to terms with the emotional environment he was in. So he bounced between wider cold--hot extremes, whereas I was more even-tempered.

- I said above that the touchy-feely, bubbly stereotype didn't fit him -- but in some ways, it did. He was definitely like that sometimes, especially when he was happy about something. It wasn't overwhelming though, in fact it was rather infectious.

- In general: funny, intelligent, engaging, very deep and complicated. I've never felt like I was being manipulated or used by him. He is very upfront, honest, and doesn't play games.

- Have you ever put two Ne dominants in the same room together? There's enough raw mental energy to power a small city. He's one of the few (only?) people I've met that can tolerate, and even be energized, by my constant steam of verbalized thoughts -- and vice versa. Whenever we were together the result was an explosive intellectual man orgy of sorts.

- Extremely creative. Very widely read -- definitely more than myself. In most ways that really matter, he's probably smarter than me.

- Interested in absolutely everything -- from poetry to quantum mechanics. Plus he's extremely enthusiastic and animated when he's exposed to new and interesting ideas.

- Random. One sure way of knowing you're talking to an Ne dominant is if the conversations all go like this:

Person A (Non-ENFP): "So, when do you think we can get together and work on that project?"
Person B (ENFP): "Well, whenever. I was thinking tonight, actually."
A: "Cool, I'll give you a call tonight and maybe we ca-"
B: "Oh, speaking of which, have you ever been to Nepal?"
A: "... wait, what?"

It was typically extremely hard for other people to follow his train of thought, so he would consciously control himself (or at least attempt to) when in the company of most others.

- One of the bigger problems he had was related to the voodoo logic that I was talking about above. Since it was so personalized, people who were being insensitive/ignorant often didn't know they were violating some unwritten rule for him, and they'd have no idea why he would get so worked up over certain things. His problem was that while it was extremely clear and made sense to him, it was so internalized that other people had to freaking clue what was going on and didn't understand what set him off. This escalated a good deal of the drama he'd get involved in.

- Extremely funny. I can't emphasize that enough.

That's all for now. I have to get going to class.
 

LostInNerSpace

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I still dont get this concept? What does it mean? "Applying judgment to perception". ??

I felt like drawing a picture. I'm much better with pictures than words anyway. The picture shows how judgers (J) are most comfortable making decisions quickly, whereas perceivers (P) are most comfortable keeping options open. Perceivers may jump between possible solutions many times before arriving at a final decision. By now, however, the decsion may be too far removed from the reality of the problem leading to a faulty decision. Of course, perceivers don't make bad decisions all the time, just shows how we can. But it does make perceivers more flexible and generally more creative and fun.

1411d1204941267-how-spot-enfp-mile-off-doh.jpg


"ENFPs sometimes make serious errors in judgment. They have an amazing ability to intuitively perceive the truth about a person or situation, but when they apply judgment to their perception, they may jump to the wrong conclusions. "

Source: Portrait of an ENFP :coffee:
 
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GZA

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I don't think I know any ENFP's really well, but I had a teacher last semester I'm pretty sure is ENFP. He said first class "I love people and socializing" and always had a lot of tangents, soemtimes spending entire classes ranting about whatever popped into his mind; "Anyone seen *insert movie*? Speaking of seeing things, have I ever told you how amazing the human eye is! :D ". He hated deadlines, he was very, very flexible, and took his sweet time marking things, too, often giving them back several months after handing them in. He's probably just finishing the last semester's stuff now :yes:. I think what tipped me off that he is probably ENFP is the raw Ne energy and relating to people. He wasn't interested in any science or math (well, other than the human eye that is :laugh:), but he loved talking about all the funny people he has met.


Some of these ENFP descriptions sound like how I assume others see myself at times, although I certainly don't think I'm an ENFP.

I think its interesting that perhaps because Ne is what people will mostly see (since its extraverted), Fi will only appear to people after that, giving the appearance of ENFP type behaviour. Of course, the reality is that Fi is dominant in my mental process and Ne is next in line. Just a theory, but I thought I'd mention it...
 

LostInNerSpace

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I disagree with your assessment of this girl, whole heartedly!!!

She definitely seems to be an ENFP, and perhaps more particularly, a young, highly energetic, effervescent "bubbly" one.

Her general affect, including her animated mannerisms, her quirkiness and the overall emotionally dynamic energy she displays, almost frighteningly reminds me of myself when I am feeling in a particularly happy and playful mood.

I like this girl, I like her a lot.

In a matter of minutes, and amongst her seemingly inconsequential stream of consciousness a la short burst/s of thought, she was able to convey so much about herself both implicitly through her actions and explicitly through her words.

She = A ball of energy wrapped in skin emitting waves of "life".

The sincerity she exhibited through her openness/comfortableness at being her naturally spontaneous, zany, unfiltered self; her complete lack of contrivance; and the underlying intelligence that penetrated, and occasional insightfulness that managed to pierce through her playful ranting of thoughts, was a pleasure to bear witness to.

In every sense of the word, she is bright!!!

I would have to agree. Butterfly, I suspect a little bit of a self-esteem issue, possibly? Everyone has some self-esteem issues, including me. People tend to project their view of the world on to the other people, and in-fact the whole world. A person who sees the world as a bad place does so because he or she sees them self as a bad person. Same goes for people who see the world as a fun, happy place.
 

SillySapienne

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--Talkative and playful with dramatic, frequent facial expressions

~ yes, but at least for me, there is a distinction I'd like to make. That is, what's been perceived as my "dramatic" energy, along with my frequent and variable facial expressions are more or less behavioral constants of mine that I seem to exhibit often, if not always. I am emotionally expressive in my speech and in my demeanor, and being passionate seems to be my default setting. :huh:

As for being talkative and playful, my exhibiting those traits seems to be a lot more variable and mood-dependent. I would say that I am more inclined to be playful than talkative, because I loathe being forced to fill space with meaningless chatter. I view talking as a means/vehicle to communicate, talking just for talking's sake has never appealed to me.

Also, I love opportunities where I can be playful with others, but often times people either can't, or don't know how to play....no fun!!!


--Fidgety, scattered, losing things


-Im not particularly fidgety, I do tend to scatter my belongings amongst my immediate surroundings, and, shockingly enough, I've never been prone to losing things, what can I say, there's a method behind my mess.

--Something unusual in our appearance, but may be subtle, we (girls especially) usually don't dress in the no-nonsense, practical, functional way of SJs & NTs

I have two modes of dress, one being functionally derived and the other being purely aesthetic, but yeah, I would say that I have an "unusual" taste in the aesthetic.


--Creative & artsy & multifaceted--this leaks out in our diversity of interests, in our choice of friends, in ways we spend our time

I wouldn't classify myslef as being artsy, but other than that, uh...:yes:


--Direct attention to the person we're talking to, we can come off intense if in our interrogator-journalist mode (it's a compliment if we're mining you for information, you've intrigued us in some way)

-Amen to that sister!!! ;)

--Breezy, cheerful demeanor--if we're down or sick, you usually won't see it unless you're a trusted friend or family member

Sickeningly true, I tend to isolate myself when feeling even the least bit negative, in a bad mood, or depressed. And yes, I have difficulty sharing this with people, in my world, misery loves aloneness.


Up close:


--Meandering tangential conversation chock-full of crazy analogies

This is why I want to have sex with wikipedia, dare I say it's the best conversationalist!!!

--A genuine connection, we adapt to the person we're talking to

Yes, yes, yes. My ability to "feel" other people has been a defining factor in my life. What I am assuming as what has been my higher capacity for/towards feeling empathy, has manifested itself as being both a blessing and a curse.

I can get consumed by, and congested with other people's "energy", this is why I, a.) need time alone in order to recollect and center myself, and b.) the reason why I value/cherish "goodness" in people,i.e. those with benign intentions.


--If we show vulnerability in sharing our negative emotions or in an interpersonal failure, know that you are in the inner circle of friends--most people just see the sunny, optimistic, irreverent side

Yes, though I highly doubt any one would describe me as being either sunny or optimistic.

With NTs:

--I'm more likely to share my possibly controversial views because I know they are not easily offended & they are not threatened by arguing (unless the topic is emotional!)


--I poke fun at them, I mine for information for sure if I see unique qualities I like in them


I share my "controversial" views probably more than I should. I also believe that all discourse should ideally take form as an intellectual debate where the object is to become closer at grasping/understanding the "truth" underlying the subjective perceptions of it.

Regarding poor judgment in relationships:

Can happen because ENFPs naturally see potentials in people, if we see unique qualities we like, & we're able to connect with the person, we may overlook negative features--much depends on the value system of the ENFP--also it gets particularly dangerous if the person appears to get us, we can get along with all sorts of people, but it's the rare person that truly understands us & doesn't judge us.


Yup, what she said!!!
 
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