Call it charisma if you like, but whatever you call it if you want your child to succeed in this world understanding the importance of social intelligence and its direct impact on your child’s success in this complex world of business combined with what has been termed “social media”,  start building your child’s social intelligence from day one.   Traditionally IQ has been made the measure of professional success while serving to divide the ranks between varying degrees of  intelligent down to autistic tendencies.   But so what if you are “smart” if you can’t communicate the value of your intelligence?  Intelligence is not enough.  In today’s intricate web of both physical and electronic social interaction, our children need to understand the value of marketing oneself as a “connector” not an island of brain cells

Social intelligence is the application of what you know.  The path through institutional education our children are traditionally expected to follow in order to compete in job markets is quickly becoming a standard and not a defining edge on the competition.   A college education no longer has the instant appeal it once had in an interview as post graduate degrees are surfacing more regularly, making the mark of differentiation your social prowess/ life experience.

Key attributes of social intelligence might include a persons ability to connect to others, empathy, ability to influence, or listening skills.  The ability to make people interested in you and your self- presentation.  It’s like being in front of the class giving an oral presentation everyday.  How well can you engage an audience?  And not just initially but create allegiance.  With applications emerging all over the wed like Twitter, Facebook, Bebo, Myspace, hi5 and others it’s not just what you have to say but how you say it that wins followers.  This fickle world of friendships and mastery of social networking can be a very frightening place for a child growing up in the midst of it all,  particularly for those with parents who just don’t get it.  Give your child the advantage he/she needs to stay up on the social scene…. and as much as it may sound like it, I am NOT talking about a quest to make your child the most popular kid in school.  What I am telling you is to encourage well rounded growth- sports, chess, school newspaper, yearbook committee, student counsel, and any other activity that will serve to broaden your child’s knowledge/ experience base and make he/she more interesting to a wider group of people.  Raise a confident child, rich with life experience and the ability to communicate that experience to others and you can pat yourself on the back for being a good parent.

See link for wiki definition of social intelligence: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_intelligence