Neutral responses are not counted in the scoring of your CliftonStrengths results. The purpose of the assessment is to identify your most dominant talents by asking you to choose between paired statements that describe different - though not necessarily opposite - approaches.
If you select neutral because neither statement applies to you, that response is excluded from your results. Similarly, if both statements apply and you choose neutral, it still won’t be counted. This is because many items pair two positive statements, and choosing neutral suggests that the theme may not reflect your strongest tendencies.
Selecting too many neutral responses can impact your results. You may see a message on your report indicating that too many neutrals were chosen, or in some cases, you may be asked to retake the assessment if there’s not enough information to generate reliable results.
To get the most accurate and insightful results, try to select one of the two statements for each item - even if both or neither feel like a perfect fit. Your selection helps the assessment better pinpoint the natural patterns that define your strengths.