---
title: How an Owl Puts on a Parrot Suit
description: A first-time keynote speaker shares how DISC style flexing helped an Owl step into a Parrot role, and what every leader can learn about adapting their style.
image: https://coaching.velocityadvisorygroup.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/iStock-2223522726-1.jpg
---

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Insights & NewsInsights May 12, 2026

# How an Owl Puts on a Parrot Suit

When I got a request from Client Success asking if I could deliver a keynote my first thought was: Calendar says I am free, so yes.

My second thought: Wait, am I the right person to do this? I’ve never done a keynote before.

A few conversations later . . . it’s determined that a very heavy facilitation week for Velocity means I was the *only* person who could do this.

My third thought: Oh no, I have to do this thing that I haven’t done before.

And when you have an Owl/Dove brain like I do, that can be a very daunting realization.

## A Quick Refresher on the Birds

At Velocity, we use a framework we call Birds, our proprietary version of the DISC model. Four styles, four birds. Eagles (D) are the bold, fast-moving, get-it-done decision-makers. Parrots (i) are the magnetic, social, light-up-the-room connectors. Doves (S) are the warm, steady, relationship-first stabilizers. And Owls (C) are the analytical, precise, let-me-check-the-data-one-more-time thinkers.

I’m an Owl/Dove. CS, in DISC terms. Which means before I commit to anything significant, I’d like to read the manual, run the numbers, build a contingency plan, etc. In the tug of war between art and science, I pick the science!

So when a great client wants a 50-minute keynote at their event, my Owl brain immediately went into question mode. What makes a great keynote? What is a keynote? Who has given me the right to say I can deliver a keynote? Are we sure I’m the right person? What if I mess up and ruin this client relationship forever and now everyone knows that I am a total sham and I shouldn’t have my job?

Hear that? That’s my imposter syndrome rearing its poorly timed head. 

## Owls Don’t Stop Being Owls. We Just Put on the Parrot Suit.

Here’s what I’ve learned doing this work: Owls don’t have to stop being Owls to give a great keynote. We just pull our Parrot suit out the closet, dust it off, and get to work. 

If you’re new to Birds, Parrots are the high-energy, magnetic, in-the-moment, run-the-room style. They are the bird you want at the front of the room when the lights come up. As an Owl, I am not a Parrot and don’t want to be. I will never naturally be a Parrot. But I can absolutely put on the Parrot suit for an hour, or sometimes a day, or sometimes an entire week, and I have to do it more often than people might guess.

Stepping outside your natural style is part of being a consultant and a manager and a leader. Some days I’m borrowing Eagle energy to push a decision across the line. Some days I lean into my Dove to be an empathetic People Leader. And some days, like keynote day, I am in a Parrot suit.

[**Discover your Birds style**](https://www.velocityadvisorygroup.com/disc-assessments-training/)

## The Owl Was the Secret Weapon

My Owl was the secret weapon. While the Parrot suit was hanging in the closet waiting for showtime, my Owl was in the workshop. Mapping the talk like a script. Stress-testing every transition. Searching for personal anecdotes and making connections to pop culture that could work for a diverse room. Timing every section to the second. Rehearsing out loud, in my living room, pacing around like a person who clearly lives alone with her ideas.

By the time I walked on stage, I wasn’t winging it. I was extremely well-rehearsed and the structure was airtight. That is Owl work. And it is exactly what makes a Parrot performance feel effortless to the audience.

If you’re an Owl reading this and thinking you can’t do high-energy public speaking, yes, you can. You just need to let your Owl design the keynote and your Parrot deliver it.

## Style Is Not Your Ceiling

Your Birds style tells you how you naturally show up, where your defaults are, what energizes you and what drains you. It does not tell you what you’re allowed to do. Once you know your style, you can flex into the others when the situation calls for it. An Owl who has done the work can absolutely put on the Parrot suit and deliver a high-energy keynote. 

They just may need to recover afterward with a quiet evening and a cocktail at the airport bar (alone).

When I work with clients on Birds, the goal is never to put people in boxes. It’s to give them a shared language for things they already know about themselves, and to remind them that the language is descriptive, not prescriptive. You are that bird, plus the story you’ve been writing your whole life. That combination is what walks into a room.

If your team could use a shared language for how everyone shows up and how to flex when it counts, that’s exactly the work we do at Velocity. Reach out. We’d love to introduce you to the Birds.

### **What’s the difference between an Owl and a Parrot in DISC?**

In Velocity’s Birds framework, Owls are the analytical, precise, data-driven thinkers (the “C” in DISC). Parrots are the magnetic, high-energy, in-the-moment communicators (the “i” in DISC). Owls excel at preparation and structure; Parrots excel at presence and connection. The two styles complement each other powerfully.

### **What are the four DISC behavioral styles?**

The four DISC behavioral styles are Dominance (decisive, fast-moving leaders), Influence (social, energetic connectors), Steadiness (warm, relationship-first stabilizers), and Conscientiousness (analytical, detail-oriented thinkers). At Velocity, we use Birds as our proprietary version: Eagles (D), Parrots (i), Doves (S), and Owls (C).

### **What is DISC style flexing?**

DISC style flexing is the ability to temporarily adopt the behaviors of a personality style other than your natural default to meet the demands of a specific moment. An Owl might flex into Parrot energy for a keynote. An Eagle might flex into Dove warmth for a hard conversation. Your style is descriptive, not prescriptive.

### **How do you flex your DISC style without losing yourself?**

Style flexing is temporary, not transformational. You’re putting on a suit for a specific moment, not changing who you are. Plan the situations that require flexing in advance, prepare deliberately, and give yourself recovery time afterward. Knowing your default style is what makes intentional flexing possible.

*86% of employees say that lack of effective collaboration and communication is the main cause of failure in the workplace. (Expert Market)*

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---

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