1. Wait

If you are not the primary decision maker in your life (eg, you live at home, or are still in school), your actions may not be the best reflection of your type.  As you take charge of more of your decisions, you may find yourself acting in a more type-typical way.  If you keep testing as types with the same functions, I’d keep a note of that – it may be a way to narrow down your selection.  If you go back and forth between two types with similar letters, you may be one of those types or you may be shadow functioning.

2. Get healthy

For example, if you are depressed, you are more likely to test as an I (no energy for socializing) and a P (no energy for organization or planning).  Depression might also affect your S/N result (negative over-analyzing) and your T/F (depending on if you feel sad all the time, or nothing at all it could go either way).  If you are physically unwell, it might keep you from an active lifestyle and you might be more likely to test as an N.  Having to plan ahead to compensate for illness or injury might make you test as a J.  Take note of how many test questions ask you about your [affected] actions so you understand how your results are possibly being skewed.

3. Read theory

Can’t hurt!  Try and achieve a balance between open minded and drinking the koolaid.  Absorb whatever you can, but recognize that you are probably not going to be good at contextualizing any of it into reality – you are highly unlikely to know people from all sixteen types well enough to pick out how their brains work from the outside, particularly since half of those people are introverts and hiding.  (If you are an introvert and also hiding, you’ve compounded the problem.)  Most of them won’t understand how their own brains work in an mbti context anyways, and won’t necessarily be a great help.  (If you are unable to type yourself – or have mistyped – this is also you.)

4. Watch videos

The more you watch, the more likely you’ll be to draw your own conclusions about who’s in which type, and I encourage you to do so and challenge me when you think I’m wrong (because I am!  Often!).  Try mimicking facial expressions and body language – do their movements sit easily on your own face/body?  Do they speak at the same volume/have the same rhythmic patter as you?  Try seeing how they act in one-on-one vs. group interviews or in front of audiences.  Take note of their interactions with people of other types – who’s in control?  Is there any awkwardness?  Over what?  Hopefully you will find someone who reminds you of you.

5. Enlist help

Outside opinions are invaluable.  Your self perception is different from others’ perceptions of you.  Other people also know a different set of people from you and experience them differently – lining up your impressions is often very revealing.  Ask for opinions on your type if you like, but more importantly ask for adjectives describing you.  If you are watching videos, you’ll find that in the comments sections, people tend to make the same comments about people of the same type over and over again.  

6. Type others

Particularly the groups around you.  I’ve yet to find immediate families (can’t guarantee anything with step-families and adoption, sorry) with any two members sharing the same type.  You might also try a circle of friends – you are not very likely to share the same type, either – or a sports team or your fellow employees (more likely to have overlap).  What role do you play in these groups and why?  (Your enlisted help might be useful here again, too.)