Being human comes with inherent behavioral, emotional, temperamental, and mental traits that can be observed to classify us according to our personalities. Carl Jung has suggested that there are 16 of these personality categories. In this article, we will see What is the Entertainer Personality?
Also known as ESFP, the Entertainer Personality characterizes an extraverted, pragmatic, inspiring, and spur-of-the-moment way of approaching life. Individuals under this personality type are usually very sociable, adventurous, practical, open-minded, fun-loving, impulsive, and don’t mind being the center of attention.
What is the Entertainer Personality?
The Entertainer Personality is the driving force behind an individual with a vibrant interpersonal engagement culture, who usually takes pleasure in humor, enjoys living in the moment, is outgoing, practical, and often fun-loving. Individuals who fit within this personality type often find themselves in situations where they are the peacemakers within their circles and are not afraid to lead from the front when there is a task to be handled, mostly because they prefer a practical approach to life. Because of their love for humor, such individuals are always the entertainer in a group, hence the name Entertainer Personality. Some of the main characteristics of people under this personality type are that they are sociable, adventurous, good team players, impulsive, practical, and fun-loving.
- Entertainers Are Sociable
Because of their love for people and empathetic skills, entertainers naturally prefer to be around people. Their aptitude to create and maintain a fun-inspired energy frequency around them makes them social magnets, and this does not bother them at all since they like being the center of attention. Their genuineness in paying attention to and caring about other people’s feelings makes them diplomacy and friendliness experts. The entertainer is what people would call ‘a people person’ because of their high level of emotional intelligence. This also helps them when they assume leadership positions in whatever they are involved with because leadership and the ability to connect with people go hand in hand very closely.
Although it’s not always the case, individuals under this personality type may tend to thrive in careers where regularly meeting and working with many people is inevitable. Some of the most popular people with these personality attributes are actors, actresses, sports personalities, musicians, and politicians. Due to this trait, the entertainer can easily become bored when isolated, but they would flourish in environments where networking is required or encouraged. It would be very difficult for the entertainer to enjoy environments where they will not be able to interact constantly with people, especially many people.
- Entertainers Are Adventurous
Being highly sociable also pushes entertainers to be daring. This helps them to meet new people, create new experiences and learn new things that will keep them thrilled and feed their love for excitement. Through this trait, entertainers will most likely take road trips, outdoor escapades, and sporting activities more than individuals belonging to other personality types. To the entertainer, the terms ‘live for the moment’ and ‘you only live once’ are as real as life itself. That is how the entertainer waters their garden of learning through new experiences, being the practical person they are. Whether one is designing an outfit for a top-class dinner event or advising a client on a perfect location for an outdoor photoshoot, the gift of stepping out of the usual is required to deliver what the client would enjoy paying for. The entertainer’s adventurous attitude would help in such scenarios as each job presents a new dare.
The adventure-loving person is not afraid to step out into the unknown. Hence, entertainers prefer environments where they do not have to conform to routines since spontaneity, flexibility, and adaptability are keywords in these individuals’ vocabularies. An entertainer would generally struggle in a situation or a career where routine is the order of the day; where it’s not necessary to reinvent the wheel. They would also struggle in confined situations like the one the whole world plunged into because of the COVID-19 pandemic, where travel restrictions and gatherings had to be implemented as part of measures to curb the spread of the disease. Careers involving outdoor activities fit perfectly in this aspect. Examples are tour guides, game park ranchers, landscape architects, travel bloggers, and geoscientists just to name a few.
- Entertainers are Good Team Players
It is not very difficult for a people person who has a good sense of humor and thrives on diplomacy to do well as a team member. Open-mindedness, empathetic qualities, and great listening skills then add to the mix for the entertainer to be an efficient catalyst in making team players cooperate to the overall benefit of the team. Their fun-loving nature and impulsive character may usually make them seem unfocused or less serious about tasks at hand. But their pragmatic, creative, and adventurous attributes mean they can take the lead in jumping onto seemingly difficult eventualities to come up with realistic ways of moving forward and getting the job done.
Instantaneous and practical tasks drive the entertainer. Other team members can lean on the entertainer when such circumstances arise. However, there are high chances of conflict between the entertainer and other team members who prefer to stick to plans and tackle tasks in a much-focused approach. Their ability to listen and connect with people on a deeper level makes entertainers good candidates for the team leader position. Fortified by their gift of thinking on the go, they can keep things moving even when hurdles are hurled into the team’s way.
- Entertainers Are Practical
When everyone else prefers to study theories and ideologies of how things should be done and solved, the entertainer would rather learn on the go. They prefer to solve problems and formulate ideas about how to do things from practical experience. This also comes from their nature to lean towards tackling situations as they emerge. In traditional classroom set-up learning, the entertainer is most likely to struggle grasping new concepts as they would rather have interaction and first-hand-experience-based learning where the hands-on approach is dominant. Technical tasks are favorable to entertainers and careers that call upon one to employ such attributes will be perfect for people who fit under the entertainer personality type.
Being observant when it comes to their environment also helps entertainers in this respect. It aids their ability to explore options and solutions as they experience things as opposed to planning based on theory or abstract ideologies. The hand-on approach can make them great leaders as they are most likely to lead by example more than they would give orders and instructions. In other words, they would perfectly personify the true meaning of the word ‘leader’ by actually leading.
- Entertainers Are Fun-loving
When it comes to fun, no one seems to love it more than entertainers. Maybe that’s why they are adventurous and like being the center of attention. It seems that it is this trait that pushes the entertainer to be as outgoing as possible. Cherishing the here-and-now moment plus being fond of creativity heavily supports the entertainer’s fun-loving behavior. It also means not being afraid to shake things up a little when handling a task, which is a very important component in some careers that require thinking outside the proverbial box. It is for this reason that you will find individuals who fall under the entertainer personality pursuing careers in the field of entertainment.
Nothing beats the feeling of knowing you are solving a social problem while having fun, and if you have done fieldwork in the realm of a social enterprise you will easily get this point. Visiting communities to disseminate information using poetry, music, or any other form of performance art is commonplace in that area. I would like to believe the word ‘edutainment’ had to be created because of that field and I am sure many people classified under the entertainer personality type would thrive well in such environments. On the other hand, the downside to this is that in careers where such a trait is not well received, the entertainer may end up not being taken seriously even on serious matters.
- Entertainers Are Impulsive
No one is as adventurous as someone impulsive. Entertainers seem to have this trait in abundance and use it whenever they can. Everyone gets impulsive at some point in one way or the other, but the Entertainer Personality is known to be the most impulsive of all known personality types. It is also this impulsiveness that feeds the entertainer’s creativeness and adaptable nature because thinking on the go helps a lot in adapting to change and devising solutions quickly. There are many situations in life where this comes in handy. Imagine you were expecting something to happen in a certain way and things change during the process. Instead of sulking about it or spending a lot of time trying to realign plans with the situation on the ground, it would be very helpful to direct that energy towards finding different ways of completing the task and still achieve intended results.
It should however be noted that this strength can be a weakness for entertainers in that they are less likely to make long-term plans or to plan things at all. It has often been observed that entertainers are usually terrible at planning and they may end up getting lost in their career because of swaying to wherever the winds of impulse are pushing them. Combined with their fun-loving nature and having a deep appreciation for aesthetics, some may end up in debt because of failure to make proper plans for their financial life and spend beyond their means. Entertainers are also averse to the commitment that entails making long-term plans because of this.
Entertainers in Romantic Relationships
Having empathetic qualities, the ability to listen, and genuinely feeling for others helps entertainers in romantic relationships. It means they are passionate about the relationship and can consider their partner’s feelings and needs. Given the partner is also outgoing and fun-loving; the entertainer’s relationship can be a trailblazing experience of thrill in one’s life. People who have been with entertainers often report enjoying being with their partners and cherishing the affection that seems to ooze from the activity-filled relationships. However, entertainers can be unwelcoming to criticism and may find it difficult to commit long term because of their live-for-the-moment approach to life.
This, together with their love for practicality, also means they are likely to constantly evaluate the relationship and may not hesitate to end it if their gut says “this no longer feels right.” They may also have challenges in relationships if they are with a partner who prefers to make long-term plans. The partner may want to make plans like when to move in together when to buy new furniture, when to have children, etc., way before such important events will have to happen. But this can be a daunting conversation for the entertainer, who would rather make plans on what is immediate. Such a difference in outlook can easily throw off the other person because it can look like the relationship is a ‘Here today gone tomorrow’ thing.
Conclusion
From Penny of the popular American television series, The Big Bang Theory, to Adam Levin, Miley Cyrus, Adele, and Merylin Monroe, the Entertainer Personality appears to be a well-distributed personality type spreading across a wide array of disciplines. The entertainer would thrive in environments where creativity, impulsiveness, adventure, adaptability, open-mindedness, and socializing are dominant. They are outgoing and pragmatic in the way they approach life. Career paths in line with this personality type include those in the arts and entertainment sectors, politics, or sport. Entertainers often go for careers that are people-centered and involve a hands-on approach to doing things. Although it can be said that any personality type can fit in any career path, it would be advisable for individuals to go for careers that fit their personality types so that they reduce the chances of finding their work uninspiring and restricting.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What type of personality is the entertainer?
The Entertainer is a person with extraverted, observant, feeling, and prospecting personality traits. They are social, outgoing, practical, and impulsive in the way they approach life.
- How rare is the Entertainer Personality?
The Entertainer Personality is the seventh most common among men and the third most common among women. The psychologist, David Keirsey, suggests that approximately 4% to 10% of all people have the Entertainer Personality.
- What are common career paths for Entertainer Personality individuals?
- Actor/Actress
- Interior Designer
- Musician
- Photographer
- Social Worker
- Event Coordinator
- Occupational Therapist
- What does ESFP stand for?
ESFP stands for Extroverted, Sensing, Feeling, and Perceiving. Extroverts are usually outgoing and expressive. Sensing types are those who utilize their five senses in experiencing situations and coming up with practical solutions to problems. Sensing types are typically intuitive and they go with the gut feeling. Perceiving types thrive on the flexibility that comes with impulsiveness.
