Asking others to help you find your Enneagram type or variations


While it's ultimately your decision, some people find asking others for help in confirming type useful. They can suggest types for you to explore, provide feedback, ask questions, and even take a test or two for you.

You can ask people who know you well, know the Enneagram well, or even know both you and the Enneagram well.

Someone who knows you well

What approach you take in asking for help with finding your type from someone who knows you will have a lot to do with how much they want to get involved with the Enneagram.

Have someone take a test for you

If someone knows you well but doesn't know the Enneagram well, you can have them take an Enneagram test with you. They can simply let you know what their response would be to each item as it describes you. Not only does it offer another viewpoint on your Enneagram type but also helps you better understand and discuss how they see you.

Have someone look through the descriptions

If you have someone who not only knows you but is also interested in the Enneagram then have them look through some type descriptions and tell you which one they think best fits for you. Since they may not know the Enneagram very well yet, discuss with them why they think that type and take it as a suggestion to explore that type for yourself.

Ask for feedback on specific questions

This approach doesn't need the other person to take a test or know anything at all about the Enneagram. On your journey to discover your type, think of the types of questions about yourself that keep you unsure of your type. Ask someone who knows you well how they would answer those questions about you.

Someone who knows the Enneagram

If this is someone who doesn't know you well then you'll be relying on their understanding of the Enneagram. What they know about you is going to come from what you tell them. Make sure you tell them what they need to know about you so they can suggest a good match for you to explore.

Post a question in an online forum

Don't just post on a forum asking people to determine your type for you. You're asking strangers to give up they're time for free to do something you should be doing for yourself. Don't be surprised if you don't get the response you're hoping for if you take this approach.

Also, some forums have rules about asking to be typed or asking what the results of a test mean. Read those rules. It may be that those types of questions should only be asked on a certain day of the week or in a certain sub-forum or other area. It may be that those types of questions are not allowed at all because they simply clutter up the forum.

People on forums like interesting questions to discuss. Post something specific that would be of broad interest like:

  • Something in particular about a type that you don't understand
  • Whether something about your personality fits a certain type
  • Differences between two or more types that aren't clear to you
  • If anyone of a given type experiences that type the same way you do

Be sure to provide good examples that clearly explain what you're asking.

Whatever the discussion remember that you're likely a stranger to the people on the forum and they only know what you tell them. Likewise, they're probably strangers to you and you have no idea what their level of experience is with the Enneagram types. They could be brand new to the types or could have spent decades studying or even teaching them to others.

Ask an Enneagram "expert"

What's become a popular way of making money with the Enneagram is to provide online coaching or consulting. There's a number of websites that will help you determine or confirm your type for a fee. However, there's no guarantee that they're going to be accurate.

Nobody should tell you what you're type is. That's for you to discover in the end. An online service can help you toward that discovery by asking you questions, offering feedback, suggesting types to explore, etc. Any type they suggest is just an opinion. Treat it as a possibility to explore further.

Enneagram "experts" are often self-proclaimed. What they're expert in is their own particular interpretation of the types and their methods for determining type. That doesn't necessarily translate to accuracy. If you have the money and want to pay for an "expert" opinion then at least find someone who's interpretation is based on a website, author, teacher, or school that you've come to respect.