The “stuff” of interpersonal intelligence is the “stuff” of human relationships and relating, be it one-on-one with another person, as part of a team, or simply an informal evening chatting with close friends.
The research on collaborative learning teams is the state-of-the-art research on interpersonal intelligence. The capacities that are at the
core of this intelligence are the factors collaborative learning research has found are the keys to successful groups: effective communication, doing one’s part on a team, listening to other points of view (even
when one disagrees!), respecting others’ opinions, empathy, and being supportive of others in the group.
One of the key findings of collaborative learning research is that we must consciously learn the social skills of cooperation and collaboration with others. The intelligence corollary is that we must consciously and diligently exercise and practice using the core capacities involved with PeopleSmart if we are to strengthen this intelligence within ourselves.
Therefore, when we are using interpersonal intelligence, we must involve ourselves in great experiences of cooperative learning so we experience the personal success which can come from working with others.
The BENEFITS of awakening and developing your
PeopleSmart are many and include at least
the following:
• You’ll develop the ability to understand other people, their perspectives, and their motivations
• You’ll have deeper and more satisfying relationships with others.
• You’ll gain a genuine empathy for others.
• You’ll develop enhanced leadership skills, including becoming a better communicator.
• You’ll discover enhanced quality of the time you spend and relationship you have with your family.
Career Smarts
Examples of professionals who are generally strong in PeopleSmart include teachers, administrators, arbitrators, anthropologists, organization leaders (presidents and CEOs), sociologists, talk show hosts, politicians, public
relations or customer service personnel, salespersons, travel agents, consultants, and social affairs directors.
