INTERPERSONAL INTELLIGENCE: WHAT IS IT AND HOW TO IMPROVE IT? - GEOGRAFÍA - 2025

The interpersonal intelligence is the ability of humans to interact and communicate with those around you. It is one of the eight multiple intelligences established by the American psychologist Howard Gardner in his theory. This classification breaks with the unitary concept of intelligence.

From that moment on, the only intelligence of a mathematical nature or academic success is no longer considered as the only intelligence, and other forms of talent related to one's own feelings, personal relationships, sports and other contexts in which the student moves are established. human being.

Interpersonal intelligence is essential to intuit how the people around you feel or in what mood they are. It is an essential faculty for some professions, especially those that are exercised in front of the public, such as commercial. As well as for intimate or personal relationships.

In this article you will be able to go deeper into the concept of interpersonal intelligence and you will discover some tips to improve it, which will be very useful both in 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, corporal-kinesthetic intelligence, intrapersonal intelligence, interpersonal intelligence and naturalistic intelligence that are present in the mind of the human being.

Interpersonal intelligence is one of the two modes of thought 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 "the ability of a person to understand the intentions, motivations and desires of other people and, consequently, to work effectively with others."

Some professions require a very acute and developed interpersonal intelligence to perform the tasks associated with those jobs. Some of these professions are that of commercials, teachers, 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 causes on others. From this importance that is given to the interrelation between human beings, interpersonal understanding is born.

Interpersonal intelligence in the biological domain

This mode of intelligence, as Howard Gardner explains in another of his books, Multiple Intelligences: New Horizons in Theory and Practice, the good development of interpersonal intelligence is closely related to the activity that occurs within the frontal lobe of the brain.

This part of the cerebral cortex is responsible for executive functions, that is, those responsible for human behavior.

In fact, as the American psychologist also states in his book, damage to this area of ​​the brain can produce personality changes, 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 that the person who suffers from emotions has.

The biological origin of interpersonal intelligence is essential to better understand it.

Finally, Gardner speaks of two essential biological factors that substantially affect the development of interpersonal thinking and that differentiate humans from animals, although some are already flourishing in some mammals such as primates.

One is emotional attachment to the mother or to the one who plays the role of mother. The other factor is the importance that man gives to social interaction, an element that prehistoric societies already used for tasks such as hunting that required a team and that is the origin of the organizational, cohesion and group needs that they have. humans.

Interpersonal Intelligence vs Emotional Intelligence

Gardner's concept of interpersonal intelligence is very similar to that of emotional intelligence defined by the psychologist and science journalist Daniel Goleman.

According to Howard Gardner in Intelligence Reframed, the behaviors that Goleman proposes in his book Emotional Intelligence correspond perfectly with his idea of ​​interpersonal intelligence and also with that of intrepersonal intelligence, since these behaviors have to do with the emotions of both his own individual, as with the rest of the people around him.

However, the main difference that Gardner points out is that Goleman leaves aside the academic field 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 well in his theory of multiple intelligences, these do not occur independently but tend to manifest jointly and are present in all human beings, although it can 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 a large part of professional jobs, especially if they are given to the public, but you have to know how to handle them well to function and behave appropriately in a group.

Good interpersonal intelligence can help you find out the wishes or feelings of the people around you, even when they try to hide it.

The tips below will help you improve your interpersonal intelligence to perform your job better or, simply, to connect correctly with the people around you.

1- Listen to others actively

Listening carefully to other people is the best way to learn about their concerns, wishes, and feelings.

According to the 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 communication and that of the sender, as well as on the influences that this exerts. about your interlocutor.

Listening to discover many aspects that are not known about the other person. If you listen carefully to someone, you can prevent certain behaviors, anticipating them and acting consistently to surprise your interlocutor.

In addition, active listening is one of the fundamental tools for conflict resolution.

2- Behave empathically

Active listening must be accompanied by empathy. Putting yourself in the shoes of the person with whom you are interacting will help you better understand how they feel, what their needs are and why they behave in a specific way and not in another.

3- Pay attention to non-verbal communication

In addition to spoken language, you should pay attention to the gestures or body movements that the other person makes.

Non-verbal communication can convey feelings or a mood 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 may be a clear sign that something is wrong.

4- Express yourself clearly

In interpersonal intelligence, the emotions and needs of others are as important as your own.

Expressing yourself in a clear and concise way will facilitate understanding by the people around you.

Establish what your needs and objectives are, they will make others understand who you are and what you want in life.

In this sense, it is very important to note that to improve interpersonal intelligence, one must not stop being oneself. According to Silberman and Hansburg, if things are not said and only hinted at, it leads to disappointment and frustration.

Let us take the example of a group project in which the leader does not make the tasks clear, only gives certain clues and each member interprets these guidelines in their own way, leading to lack of coordination and failure to achieve the established objectives. Clearly, in this situation a conflict will be created between one and the other.

6- Give and receive feedback

Giving feedback while talking to someone will make that person understand that you are listening carefully and that you are interested in what they are telling you.

Feedback must 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 your head.

It is important for this feedback to be given, active prior listening and giving the other person time to organize their ideas and thoughts.

7- Learn to resolve conflicts

The ability to resolve conflicts is a sign that you have good interpersonal intelligence. In fact, those people who work on it the most are exceptional moderators in that resolution.

In this section, you will learn three keys that will help you end conflicts or quarrels with a person or a group of people easily and concisely:

- Actively listen to the parties or possible parties to the conflict. Staying attentive to what they say not only serves to resolve said tension when it has already occurred but also to prevent it from occurring. Much of the fights or tensions between people are due to a lack of communication.

- Make things clear. Specifying what your point of view is from the outset can avoid many misunderstandings.

- Keep calm. A conflict is usually a situation where tempers and tensions are running high. In order not to contribute to this climate of worry and tension, the most important thing is that you remain calm.

9- Take time to socialize

There is no better way to improve interpersonal intelligence than to interact with many people.

It is important that you spend time with 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 others in a much clearer way.

Activities to work on interpersonal intelligence

Besides these tips, there are other activities that can help you improve your social skills like joining a volunteer.

According to Howard Gardner in Intelligence in Seven Steps (1996), interpersonal intelligence should be exercised through cooperative games, participating in group projects and discussions, reading books and using materials from different cultures, or practicing theater and other role-playing games. in a group.

Other activities that will help you progress in the field of interpersonal intelligence are the fact of offering yourself for 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 can 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 poor social behaviors. Autistic people often have difficulty following conversations, they do not know how to behave according to culturally established norms. They can also present communication problems. All of this makes it difficult for him to establish friendly relationships with other humans.

Anxiety or depression disorders

Anxiety or a state of depression can also make it difficult to use adequate interpersonal intelligence.

People who are depressed or who suffer from anxiety, have problems to relate, in most cases due to lack of interest produced by the same lack of appetite that these disorders generate.

Changes in personality can also occur. Some types of depression can be associated with bipolar disorder.

In addition to diseases and health problems that affect the brain, there are substances that are detrimental to interpersonal intelligence such as alcohol and other types of drugs.

Alcohol damages the prefrontal area of ​​the cerebral cortex, which is directly responsible for behavior.

References

1. Gardner, H., 1996, Intelligence in seven steps. Retrieved February 14, 2017 from Google Scholar.
2. Gardner, H. (nd). Intelligence reframed multiple intelligences for the 21st century. New York, NY: Basic Books.
3. Gardner, H. (2010). Multiple intelligences: new horizons. United States: Read How You Want.
4. Silberman, ML, & Hansburg, F. (2000). PeopleSmart: developing your interpersonal intelligence. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.