38: Interpersonal Literacy through Gestures

The purpose of schooling, one would say, is to prepare children to become future leaders of our society. Literacy, in point of fact, is considered of prime importance to becoming successful, productive citizens. However, when literacy is limited solely to reading and writing, the possibility of success for our children is greatly restricted to a handful of professions that do not require considerable social interaction. Yet, across various disciplines, humans have been described as social creatures, innately seeking relationships and identity with a group or various groups.

Leaders in all walks of life need strong communication skills that entail awareness of one’s nonverbal communication via body language, eye contact, gestures, and the like. As a result, the ability to “read” people, is a slang term that may in fact shed light on an alternative literacy, which, when strong, can greatly aid an individual’s chances of success in our increasingly global community.