What does it take to be emotionally intelligent? According to psychologist Daniel Goleman, who popularized and wrote extensively about the concept, there are five components of emotional intelligence. This article discusses what you can do to learn to improve these emotional intelligence skills. By working on and increasing these skills, you can become more emotionally intelligent and raise your EQ. To become self-aware, you must be capable of monitoring your own emotions, recognizing different emotional reactions, and then correctly identifying each particular emotion. Self-aware individuals also recognize the relationships between the things they feel and how they behave. These individuals also recognize their own strengths and limitations, are open to new information and experiences, and learn from their interactions with others. Goleman suggests that people who possess self-awareness have a good sense of humor, are confident in themselves and their abilities, and are aware of how other people perceive them. Subscribe Now: Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Google Podcasts This doesn’t mean putting emotions on lockdown and hiding your true feelings—it simply means waiting for the right time and place to express them. Self-regulation is all about expressing your emotions appropriately. Those who are skilled in self-regulation tend to be flexible and adapt well to change. They are also good at managing conflict and diffusing tense or difficult situations. People with strong self-regulation skills also tend to be high in conscientiousness. They are thoughtful about how they influence others, and they take responsibility for their own actions. True emotional understanding involves more than just understanding your own emotions and those of others. You also need to be able to put this information to work in your daily interactions and communications. In professional settings, managers benefit by being able to build relationships and connections with employees. Workers benefit from being able to develop a strong rapport with leaders and co-workers. Important social skills include active listening, verbal communication skills, nonverbal communication skills, leadership, and persuasiveness. It also involves your responses to people based on this information. When you sense that someone is feeling sad or hopeless, how do you respond? You might treat them with extra care and concern, or you might make an effort to buoy their spirits. Being empathetic also allows you to understand the power dynamics that often influence social relationships, especially in workplace settings. This is important for guiding your interactions with different people you encounter each day. Those competent in this area are able to sense who possesses power in different relationships. They also understand how these forces influence feelings and behaviors. Because of this, they can accurately interpret different situations that hinge on such power dynamics. Instead, they have a passion to fulfill their own inner needs and goals. They seek internal rewards, experience flow from being totally in tune with an activity, and pursue peak experiences. Those who are competent in this area tend to be action-oriented. They set goals, have a high need for achievement, and are always looking for ways to do better. They also tend to be very committed and are good at taking initiative. Some of the key benefits of having good emotional intelligence skills include improved:
Leadership: Emotional intelligence allows you to be a more effective leader.Communication: Understanding how others are feeling allows you to communicate with them better.Self-knowledge: Being more aware of what you are feeling allows you to understand yourself more deeply.Self-control: Being aware of your emotions also allows you to develop your self-control abilities.Stress management: Managing your emotions effectively allows you to exert greater control in situations marked by stress or conflict.
Having emotional intelligence abilities also allows you to feel greater empathy for the people around you. This skill plays an important role in developing and maintaining interpersonal relationships. Creating strong connections with other people allows you to foster and strengthen a social support network, which plays a pivotal role in both physical and mental health.
A Word From Verywell
Emotional intelligence is essential for understanding yourself as well as successfully navigating your social world. While some people tend to come by these skills naturally, there are strategies that anyone can use to learn and strengthen their emotional intelligence skills. In order to develop these interpersonal skills, it is essential to be able to interpret and understand other people’s emotions. This ability to understand the emotions of others is a key emotional intelligence skill.
