Abstract
Subtle information regarding the multiple intelligence and the available learning styles stand out as crucial to every person. Such knowledge permits an individual to put more focus on one’s strengths, curtailing concerns on personal weaknesses. Since the development of the theory of multiple intelligence over two decades ago, it has proved vital in fostering sound learning since through exploration of the various existing ways through which people learn, a particular methodology, which is effective for a particular person can be deployed in teaching.
This is incredibly important since people learn in different ways. Many scholars are of the opinion that no single general teaching approach works out universally among all people generally. This essay peruses through the authors’ most effective intelligence, how the styles affect the authors’ communication style and effectiveness. It further shows how one can apply the intelligence styles in a business setting to ensure better communication. Finally, considering the identified communication strengths, it introspects how the author may adapt to communicate with someone with a different intelligence style to ensure effective communication takes place.
What were your top three “Intelligence” styles?
Howard gardener proposed various types of intelligence in 1983, which included musical, interpersonal, linguistic, spatial-visual, bodily-kinesthetic, logical-mathematical, and intrapersonal. Other additional types of intelligence such as moral, naturalistic, and existential have found their way into the original seven. Although all are vital, linguistic, bodily-kinesthetic, and logical-mathematical are my top three intelligence styles.
While not negating the subtle effective communication, class learning borrows largely from these three intelligence styles. One can easily inculcate these learning styles by adopting and practicing easy-to-articulate learning styles. Recognizing how one learns well has a noble benefit in that those endowed with visual learning abilities will take proactive steps to ensure that they channel all their reading efforts through incorporating styles such as reading illustrated books employing multimedia. For instance, films or computers take ardent attention to facial expressions and body language during training or teaching sessions among others.
In the case of auditory learners, participating in some useful group discussions forms an essential endeavor to foster learning. Furthermore, these intelligence styles are measurable, and hence determining one’s progress on making the initiatives to inculcate the most preferred intelligence style proves possible.
How do these styles impact your communication style and effectiveness?
Effective communication entails the transfer of meaning in the most precise way possible. It, therefore, implies that the communicator must be fully cognizant of the audience learning styles for him/her to capture their attention training them to think coherently in a manner that would make them understand the context of the communication. According to the Multiple intelligence for adult Literacy (2009), “People who are strong in the language intelligence enjoy saying, hearing, and seeing words, like telling stories, are motivated by books, records, dramas, opportunities for writing” (para. 1).
Consequently, in an attempt to retain efficient and effective communication, the communicator’s substantial knowledge of the language, as learning styles, largely aid in creating awareness of the need to select words precisely during communication. Therefore, while addressing visual learners, I would simply make them see the words rather than listening to them. Other learning styles also extend similar concerns. Since people have deferring intelligence styles, a wealth of knowledge of such learning styles enables me to blend all the techniques that would make every audience member understand the intended information, despite the varying limitations and special deferring learning styles for every member.
How can you use your intelligence styles to be a better communicator in a business setting?
The modern environment of business management seems engulfed by complex situations that require cute decision-making. Arriving at such decisions demands that the manager be acutely knowledgeable with interpersonal skills. Interpersonal intelligence entails “the ability to enhance the way one communicates with people in your work group, on your team, and up and down the organizational ladder” (McLean, 2010, Para.3).
The amicable success of the manner in which one would ensure ardent clear communication with other people in the business setting constitutes verbal or non-verbal communication styles, which provide room for both the communicator and the audience’s natural styles of thinking. This would thus render the inculcation of “brain based communication” (McLean, 2010, Para.5) strategies possible. Interpersonal intelligence evidently proves enormously applicable in “collaborations, mediations, communications, negotiations, leading and organization of people” (McLean, 2010, Para. 5). In fact, these are the day-to-day tasks of any business manager.
Given your communication strengths, how would you adapt to communicate with someone with a different intelligence style to ensure effective communication has taken place?
Every person has his or her communication strength. More often than not, one’s strength hardly conforms to the other parties’ intelligence style to ensure that effective communication takes place. The communicator must employ strategies that force him or her to adapt the audience’s intelligence styles. Empathy forms one of the chief tools for evaluating the audience in an attempt to explore the various communication strategies that would work best for every individual.
It then suffices for people to view the audience as individuals rather than viewing them collectively. On the other hand, critical thinking constitutes yet another major tool for ensuring acute learning about one’s audience. It “involves gathering as much information as one can about someone or something, and then making decisions based on that information” (Isabel, 1980, p.27). Deploying critical thinking aids in finding out one’s knowledge pertaining to organizations and people in general thereby constructing an essential platform for the determination of probable responses. Analysis of the audience entangles a key component of success of delivery of the intended message.
To deliver massages, consequently, the communicator makes efforts to unearth the existing audience knowledge concerning the topics handled, putting into consideration factors such as demographics, individual personal behaviors, beliefs, personalities, and attitudes among others. Armed with such information, one can sort and deploy the various learning styles appropriately, even in the light of the communicator’s strengths and weaknesses. One of the strategies for adapting by the audience entails then “use of details and language that reflect your knowledge of, respect for, the specific audience, the organizational culture and the discourse community” (Isabel, 1980, p.34).
A flexible communication environment stands out as essential. This holds, since depending on the different peoples’ ability to rise varying objections depending on their capacity to internalize and attach meaning to information varies. From the objections characterizing the audience’s responses, the communicator would able to learn the types of intelligence for a different audience. Consequently, he or she would capitalize on the strengths of the audience: something that would facilitate the entire communication process, making it effective and efficient.
Reference List
Isabel, B. (1980). Effects of Each Preference in Work Situations. Introduction to Type. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
McLean, S. (2010). Business Communication for Success: Diverse Types of Intelligence and Learning Styles. Web.
Multiple Intelligence for Adult Literacy. (2009). Practice: Engaging the Intelligence. Web.