The Interpersonal intelligence Is the capacity that the human being has to relate and communicate with those around him. It is one of the eight multiple intelligences That establishes the American psychologist Howard Gardner In his theory. This classification breaks with the unitary concept of intelligence.
From that moment on, the only intelligence is no longer considered as mathematical or academic success, and other forms of talent are established, related to one's feelings, to personal relationships, to sport and other contexts in which the human being.
Interpersonal intelligence is fundamental to intuit how they feel or what mood are the people in your environment. It is an essential faculty for some professions, especially those that are exercised to the public, such as commercial. As well as for relationships of an intimate or personal nature.
In this article you can go deeper into the concept of interpersonal intelligence and you will discover some tips to improve it, which will be very useful both in your personal and professional life.
The concept of interpersonal intelligence
Howard Gardner in his theory of multiple intelligences, develops eight concepts of understandings or thoughts; Linguistic intelligence, logical-mathematical intelligence, spatial or visual intelligence, musical intelligence , Body-kinesthetic intelligence, intrapersonal intelligence, interpersonal intelligence and naturalistic intelligence that are present in the mind of the human being.
Interpersonal intelligence is one of two modes of thinking of a personal nature that distinguishes the American psychologist.
Howard Gardner, in his book Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century Defines interpersonal intelligence as"a person's ability to understand the intentions, motivations and desires of other people and, consequently, to work effectively with others."
Some professions require very acute and developed interpersonal intelligence to perform the tasks associated with those jobs. Some of these professions are commercials, professors, doctors or clinical staff, political or other leaders, for example religious and actors. In all of them, you have to deal with many different people.
According to Gardner himself, his definition of intelligence is closely related to the effect that the individual himself has on others. From this importance given to the interrelationship between human beings, interpersonal understanding is born.
Interpersonal intelligence in the biological field
This mode of intelligence, Howard Gardner explains in another of his books, Multiple Intelligences: New Horizons in Theory and Practice , The good development of interpersonal intelligence is intimately related to the activity that occurs within the Frontal lobe of the brain.
This part of the cerebral cortex Is responsible for the executive functions, that is, those responsible for human behavior.
In fact, as the American psychologist also states in his book, damages in this area of the brain Can produce changes in personality, some of them irreversible.
These damages can also lead to some types of dementia or mental and neurodegenerative diseases such as Pick's disease , Which directly affects the behavior and control of the person suffering from the emotions.
The biological origin of interpersonal intelligence is fundamental to understand it better.
Finally, Gardner discusses two essential biological factors that substantially affect the development of interpersonal thinking and differentiate humans from animals, although some are already flourishing in some mammals such as primates.
One is the emotional attachment to the mother or the mother. The other factor is the importance that man gives to social interaction, an element already used by prehistoric societies for tasks such as hunting that required a team and that is the origin of the organizational needs and cohesion and group that have humans.
Interpersonal Intelligence vs Emotional Intelligence
Gardner's concept of interpersonal intelligence is very similar to that of Emotional intelligence Which defines the psychologist and scientific journalist Daniel Goleman.
According to Howard Gardner in Intelligence Reframed , The behaviors proposed by Goleman in his book Emotional Intelligence Correspond to perfection with their idea of interpersonal intelligence and also with that of intelligence intrepersonal, since these behaviors have to do with the emotions of both the individual himself and the other people in his environment.
However, the main difference that Gardner points out is that Goleman sets aside the academic scope of intelligence to focus on other aspects such as values and social policy.
11 Tips to Improve Interpersonal Intelligence
Interpersonal intelligence is directly related to the good progress of social skills .
As Howard Gardner explains in his theory of multiple intelligences, they do not occur independently but usually manifest themselves together and are present in all human beings, although it may be diminished in certain people by brain damage such as Mentioned in the previous section.
Social skills are not only necessary for the performance of much of the professional work, more if these are given to the public, but you have to know how to handle them well to behave and behave appropriately in a group.
A good interpersonal intelligence can help you to find out the desires or feelings Of the people in your environment, even when they try to hide it.
The tips outlined below will help you improve your interpersonal intelligence to better perform your job or simply to relate well to the people around you.
1- Active listening to others
Listening attentively to other people is the best way to know their concerns, desires and feelings.
According to authors Melvin L. Silberman and Freda Hansburg in the book People Smart: Developing Your Interpersonal Intelligence, Understanding others has a great impact on the success of the communication and on the sender, as well as on the influences that it exerts on its interlocutor.
Listening is discovered many aspects that are not known of the other person. If you listen carefully to someone, you can prevent certain behaviors, by going ahead of them and acting in a coherent way to surprise your interlocutor.
In addition, active listening is one of the fundamental tools for conflict resolution .
2- Behave empathetically
Active listening should be accompanied by empathy . Putting yourself in the place of the person with whom you are relating, will help you to know better how you feel, what needs and why you behave in a concrete way and not another.
3- Pay attention to non-verbal communication
In addition to spoken language, you should notice the gestures or body movements that the other person performs.
Non-verbal communication can convey feelings or a state of humor that your interlocutor is trying to hide.
For example, if he tells you that he is fine but his face is serious and looks away, it can be a clear sign that something is not right.
4- Express yourself clearly
In interpersonal intelligence are so important emotions And the needs of others, like your own.
Expressing yourself in a clear and concise manner will facilitate the understanding of the people around you.
Establish what your needs and goals are, they will make you understand to others who you are and what you want in life.
In this sense, it is very important to point out that in order to improve interpersonal intelligence, we must not stop being oneself. According to Silberman and Hansburg, if they do not say things and only insinuate themselves, it gives rise to disappointment and frustration.
Take the example of a group project in which the leader does not make clear the tasks, only gives certain clues and each member interprets these guidelines in their own way resulting in the lack of coordination and failure to achieve the established objectives. Clearly, in this situation will create a conflict between one and another.
6- Give and receive feedback
Give Feedback While talking to someone, will make him understand that you listen carefully and that you are interested in what he is telling you.
Feedback should be consistent, concrete and try to be useful.
You should also encourage feedback in relation to what you say to know what that person thinks and not make your own ideas in the head.
It is important to get this feedback, a previous active listening and give the other person time to organize their ideas and thoughts.
7- Learn to solve conflicts
The ability to resolve conflicts is a sign of good interpersonal intelligence. In fact, those who work the most are exceptional moderators in that resolution.
In this section, you will learn three keys that will help you put an end to conflicts or quarrels with a person or a group of people in an easy and concise way:
- Listen actively to parties or possible parties to the conflict. Staying attentive to what they say, not only serves to resolve this tension when it has already given but also to prevent it. Most of the fights or tensions between people are due to a lack of communication.
- Make it clear. Specifying your point of view from the outset can avoid many misunderstandings.
- Keep calm. A conflict is usually a situation where the spirits and tensions are in full bloom. In order not to contribute to this climate of worry and tension, the most important thing is to stay calm.
9- Take time to socialize
There is no better way to improve interpersonal intelligence than to relate to many people.
It is important that you dedicate time to your family and friends, but also that you meet new people, even from another culture.
This will help you to open your mind, to better control your emotions in relationships and to understand in a much clearer way to others.
Activities to work with interpersonal intelligence
In addition to these tips, there are other activities that can help you improve your social skills such as joining a volunteer.
According to Howard Gardner in Intelligence in Seven Steps (1996), interpersonal intelligence must be exercised through cooperative games, participating in group projects and discussions, reading books and using materials from different cultures, or practicing theater and other group role plays.
Other activities that will help you to progress in the field of interpersonal intelligence are the fact of offering you to positions of responsibility in your work or in other areas, since these will make you focus more on the people you are addressing.
Aspects that may be negative for interpersonal intelligence
There are brain damage and other elements that are detrimental to the proper development of social skills.
In addition to mental disorders that directly affect the frontal cortex, such as Pick's disease, mentioned above, there are other diseases that can decrease interpersonal intelligence. Some of them are:
Autism
This disorder of neuronal origin is characterized, among other symptoms, by deficient social behaviors. Autistic people often have difficulty following conversations, they do not know how to behave according to culturally established norms. They may also have communication problems. All this makes it difficult to establish friendly relations with other humans.
Anxiety disorders Or depression
Anxiety or a state of depression They can also make it difficult to use adequate interpersonal intelligence.
Depressive or anxious people have problems relating, in most cases because of the lack of interest caused by the same lack of appetite that these disorders generate.
There may also be changes in personality. Some types of depression may be associated with Bipolar disorder .
In addition to diseases and health problems affecting brain , There are substances that are harmful to interpersonal intelligence such as alcohol and other types of drugs.
Alcohol damages The prefrontal area of the cerebral cortex, directly responsible for the behavior.
References
- Gardner, H., 1996, Intelligence in seven steps. Retrieved February 14, 2017 Google Scholar.
- Gardner, H. (n.d.). Intelligence reframed multiple intelligences for the 21st century. New York, NY: Basic Books.
- Gardner, H. (2010). Multiple intelligences: new horizons. United States: Read How You Want.
- Silberman, M.L., & Hansburg, F. (2000). PeopleSmart: developing your interpersonal intelligence. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.