Multiple Intelligences and better public speaking

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How can you get better at public speaking? Some might say that since it calls for a combination of wit (IQ) and grit (perseverance), you just need to keep trying. But what should you try first? It would be helpful to focus.

 

Psychologist Howard E. Gardner asserted that there are eight kinds of intelligence. There is a Wikipedia article on his Theory of Multiple Intelligences. He discusses them in a 17-minute  TEDxBeaconStreet talk posted at YouTube on December 10, 2015 and titled Beyond Wit and Grit: Rethinking the Keys to Success.

 

Logical-mathematical intelligence  is being 'number or reasoning smart'. It is the intelligence of a scientist or a computer programmer.

 

Linguistic intelligence is being ‘word smart.’ It is the intelligence of a poet, or a journalist.

 

Spatial intelligence is being ‘picture smart.’ It is the ability to deal with local space like a chess player, or a broader space like a sailor or navigator.

 

Interpersonal intelligence  is being ‘people smart.’ It is the ability to understand other people.

 

Intrapersonal intelligence is being ‘self-smart.’ It is the ability to understand yourself.

 

Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence is being ‘body smart.’ It is the intelligence of an athlete or a craftsperson.

 

Musical intelligence is being ‘music smart.’ It is the intelligence of a conductor or of a performer.

 

Naturalistic intelligence  is being ‘nature smart.’ It is the ability to understand nature.

 

Having a combination with most of these intelligences (the first six) will make you an excellent public speaker. There are large individual differences though. Think about which of your intelligences are low, and which are high. Then you can decide to focus on improving one or more of them. Look to others you know for examples of how you can get better. Try new things, and get evaluated on which worked well.

 

There is a 15 page pdf article by Kristi A. Schaller and Marybeth G. Callison from the 1998 Basic Communication Course Annual titled Applying Multiple Intelligences Theory to the Basic Public Speaking Course that discusses exercises you might try. Another 10 page pdf article by Julie Probst Wheeler is titled Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom.

 

 I didn’t start with much spatial intelligence. When I began writing this blog in 2008, only two of the 53 posts had graphics. Then I began adding photos, paintings, cartoons, and charts that would help communicate my points. I read several books about producing informational graphics, and learned to use PowerPoint and Photoshop Elements. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I discussed vectors in an August 10, 2016 blog post titled Just words alone won’t always work. Sometimes you need simple graphics too. As shown above, a vector has both a magnitude and a direction shown by an arrow. It can be expressed via perpendicular components which can be added. To get from Boise to Seattle, you need to both go west ~350 miles and north ~350 miles.

 

On June 7, 2021 I blogged about how Your speech has more reach than you think. In that post I illustrated multiplying time by persons to produce an area. In another post on September 2, 2018 titled An ineffective graphic about personal growth for effective leadership I showed multiplying three dimensions  to produce a volume.

 

This post was inspired by an article at SlideModel on May 4, 2021 titled Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences (8 types of intelligences). The image of an octahedron came from Wikimedia Commons.