Communicative Intelligence: Just Another Skill?

Intelligence is one of those words that are often used and abused. It means many things; it is a polysemic term. According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, intelligence is "the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations." It is also the ability "to apply knowledge to manipulate one's environment," or "to think abstractly as measured by objective criteria," or "the basic eternal quality of divine Mind." Intelligence also refers to the gathering of information about a potential or an actual enemy. All in all, except perhaps for the last meaning of intelligence, to be intelligent is to have the intellectual capacity to gain, understand and apply knowledge in a variety of situations and contexts.

Communication is a term with multiple meanings too. It is most definitely an abused word as well. A recent (7/7/2019) Google search of 'communication' generates around 4,060,000,000 results. When I ask my students about the meaning of communication, most are quick to cite the exchange of information that takes place when we communicate with another or a group of others. Of course, they are right. But only partially. Beyond the transfer of information that occurs between one warm body to another, meaning is generated when we interact with others. Communication is about co-creating meaning that serves to create, develop, enhance, sustain, but, also undermine and, sometimes, destroy or end relationships. Communication allows for communities, big and small, to be nurtured and enhanced, or, on the contrary, diminished and weakened. Human beings are social creatures at their core. It is communication that allows us to develop our social nature, build and foster social networks and communities we want to be a part of, personally, professionally and civically.

Emotional intelligence has gained a lot of traction in recent years, and for good reason. It is now recognized that emotions are a powerful engine for behavior, and that the awareness and ability to control them are key to healthier relationships. But, often, in this equation, communication is neglected as the vehicle for expressing those emotions, to oneself and to others. Intrapersonal communication, for instance, allows one to communicate within oneself and develop understanding of our emotions, thoughts, hopes, fears, etc. If one is unable to communicate within, how can one do so with the outside world? Necessary but not enough, intrapersonal communication helps us develop other forms of communication such as interpersonal, intercultural and public communication. 

In many schools and colleges, communication courses such as public speaking, presentation skills, civil discourse and intercultural communication have become mandatory for all students, regardless of their major or career goals. This trend is to be celebrated, especially with the increased digitization of communication patterns. Similarly, most employers require candidates to have good communication skills, especially interpersonal ones. But perhaps this focus on communication as an essential component of being a productive or successful member of society and a good employee would be enhanced by focusing on communication as an intelligence, rather than a skill or a set of skills.

Effectiveness is often touted as the desired outcome of successful communication. Such perspective reduces communication to a transaction, a mere exchange of information. But communication, as previously articulated, is much more. Even when we use words to communicate, because we most often do so without words, those words do not speak for themselves. Communication comes in many forms: verbal, non-verbal and para-verbal. None of these forms of communication are self-evident. They are all contingent on many variables, such as context, cultural backgrounds, timing, people involved in the interaction and the history of their relationship, or lack of, among other things.

Intelligence is mental dexterity. Communicative intelligence is both the mental and emotional dexterity to navigate the complex world of relationships, personal and professional, with all the verbal, non-verbal and para-verbal tools of communication that we have available to us. One’s emotional intelligence is in fact effective only if one has the aptitude to express and communicate those emotions in ways that are tuned to the context, climate and interlocutor(s). This requires developing an intuition about ways of communicating with others, ‘reading’ non-verbal and para-verbal cues, learning to genuinely listen to others and taking the time to offer a response. It is a learning process that allows one to become a more seasoned communicator. Just like emotional intelligence, communicative intelligence can be taught and is part of lifelong learning. Most importantly, it is an intelligence that enhances relationships, professional development and productivity, and all other types of intelligence.