You may not agree with him for whatever reason you choose but most would agree that today on mother earth, there is no world leader more persuasive or articulate as president Obama. He might even be the greatest orator that has ever led the USA. Obama exhibits high narrative intelligence. Steele (1986) considers narrative intelligence as an active ability to produce a story.
Narrative intelligence is an important part of human cognition, especially in sense-making and communicating with people.
Barack Obama (Born 4 August 1961), 44th President of the United States (current- assumed office on 20 January 2009); first black president of the United States; Lawyer- graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School; former president of the Harvard Law Review; United States Senator from Illinois; 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate; Husband of Michelle (married 1992); Father of Malia (born 1998) and Sasha (born 2001)
I stood in awe as I watched him deliver his speech at Mandela’s funeral service. Even the hostile crowd that had earlier booed the South African president when he spoke interrupted president Obama’s speech several times with applauses. He had captivated them in a way that they were disarmed of their anger and had been enchanted by president Obama’s hypnotic power of narrative intelligence.
Many years earlier while he was a Senate candidate, president Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic Convention, entitled The Audacity of Hope that propelled him to national prominence. The world had never remained the same since that speech. Then in 2006, Obama released his book, the Audacity of Hope, which was essentially a book-length account that expanded upon many of the same themes he originally addressed in the convention speech.
Obama has been able to effectively communicate with his American audience as well as the global audience through his story-telling in his books. The publication of Obama’s books has also corresponded with major political moments in his life as a leader. Thus, according to Michiko (2009), “Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance” was first published in 1995 as Obama was preparing to launch his political career in a campaign for Illinois Senate, five years after being elected as the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review in 1990. The book chronicles the events of Obama’s life up until his entry into law school in 1988.
It is also imperative to note that the “The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream” expounds on many of the subjects that became part of Obama’s 2008 campaign for the presidency. The impact of this book was significant- in 2006, it became number one on both the New York Times and Amazon.com bestsellers lists.
Obama finished writing his third book, “Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters” in 2008 after he was elected as the President of the United States. Hence, the content and timing of Obama’s books and their national and international impact show that President Obama has consistently and successfully used his narrative intelligence for leadership effectiveness…..to be continued
