1. What is emotional intelligence?

Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand, use, and manage your own
emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate, empathize with others,
overcome challenges and defuse conflict. Emotional intelligence helps you build
stronger relationships at school and work, and achieve your career and personal
goals. It can also help you to connect with your feelings, turn intention into action,
and make informed decisions about what matters most to you.

Emotional intelligence have four attributes:

● Self-management – You’re able to control impulsive feelings and behaviors,

manage your emotions in healthy ways, take initiative, and adapt to changing
circumstances.
● Self-awareness – You recognize your own emotions and how they affect
your thoughts and behavior. You know your strengths and weaknesses, and have
self-confidence.
● Social awareness – You have empathy. You can understand the emotions,
needs, and concerns of other people, feel comfortable socially, and recognize the
power dynamics in a group or organization.
● Relationship management – You know how to divelop and maintain good
relationships, communicate clearly, inspire and influence others, work well in a team,
and manage conflict.

2. Why is emotional intelligence so important?

Living in this world means interacting with many different types of people, as well as the
constant change and surprises of society. Having a high level of emotional intelligence
allows you to empathize with others, communicate effectively, and be both self and socially
aware. Being emotionally intelligent is the key to how to respond to what life gives us which
can lead us to achieve success or fulfill our lives.

There are people who are academically brilliant and yet are socially inept and unsuccessful
at work or in their personal relationships. Intellectual ability or your intelligence quotient (IQ)
isn’t enough on its own to achieve success in life. Yes, your IQ can help you get into college,
but it’s your EQ that will help you manage the stress and emotions when facing your final
exams.

Emotional intelligence affects:

● Your performance at school or work. High emotional intelligence can help you
navigate the social complexities of the workplace, lead and motivate others, and excel in
your career.
● Your physical health. Emotional Intelligence can help to manage our level of
stress.Uncontrolled stress raises blood pressure, suppresses the immune system, increases
the risk of heart attacks and strokes and speeds up the aging process.
● Your mental health. Uncontrolled emotions and stress can also impact your mental
health, making you vulnerable to anxiety and depression.
● Your relationships. By understanding your emotions and how to control them,
you’re better able to express how you feel and understand how others are feeling.
● Your social intelligence. Being in tune with your emotions serves a social purpose,
connecting you to other people and the world around you. Social intelligence enables you to
recognize friend from foe, measure another person’s interest in you, reduce stress, balance
your nervous system through social communication, and feel loved and happy.

3. Impact of emotional intelligence

Through Emotional Intelligence we can optimize personal performance, communication and
therefore the work environment. People will feel that they are taken into account which can
decrease absenteeism and turnover. The self-esteem of individuals will increase and their
attitudes will have a positive trend.

Interest in teaching and learning social and emotional intelligence has grown in recent years.
Social and emotional learning (SEL) programs have become a standard part of the
curriculum for many schools.

The goal of these initiatives is not only to improve health and well-being but also to help
students succeed academically and prevent bullying. There are many examples of how
emotional intelligence can play a role in daily life.

4. How Emotional Intelligence is Measured

There are three general ways to measure emotional intelligence: Self-Report, Other-Report
and Ability measures. The MEIS is an ability test, which we believe is the best way to
measure Emotional Intelligence. Let's take a look at each of these methods.

Self Report

Some tests use a self-report method. Self-report is the most common way to measure things
such as personality traits. Personality traits include warmth, empathy, anxiety and so on.
Here is an example of a self-report test of personality:

I often worry for no reason at all. Not True Somewhat True Very True

It's hard to fall asleep at night. Not True Somewhat True Very True

I feel down and blue a lot. Not True Somewhat True Very True

How do you know if you are depressed, or not, by answering these questions? In a well-
developed personality test, we would have many more questions of this type, and we would
ask hundreds of people to take the test. By analyzing people's responses, we would be able
to determine what a low, average and high score consisted of. For instance, we may find
that by answering one question Not True, one question Somewhat True and one Very True
that this score is actually well above the average score. Such a series of responses would
then indicate that the person with this profile may be depressed.
Self-report tests have been around for decades and they serve a very useful purpose. As a
way to measure emotional intelligence, they have serious drawbacks. Emotional Intelligence
consists of a number of skills. Skills are best measured by ability tests, not by self-report.

This is akin to asking you a series of questions about your intelligence:

I am very smart. Not True Somewhat True Very True

I am good at solving problems. Not True Somewhat True Very True

I have a large vocabulary. Not True Somewhat True Very True

This would be a great test of what you thought of your intelligence, and could be a measure
of your self-image. But a test of intelligence? I don't think so.

Other Report

If Emotional Intelligence is all about people skills, why not ask other people what they think
of us? On the face of it, this seems to be a legitimate means of testing emotional
intelligence. But let's take a closer look at this method, called Observer Ratings, and in
human resources, 360-Degree Assessment.

Observers, let's say team members, are given a form to complete about you. Here are some
examples of questions that they may be asked:

Is able to read people well. Not True Somewhat True Very True

Manages emotions effectively. Not True Somewhat True Very True

Understands my emotions. Not True Somewhat True Very True

One team member rates you Not True on all the items. Are you low in emotional
intelligence? You certainly are, at least according to this person. But what does this person
know about you?

5. Components of emotional intelligence

Researchers suggest that there are four different levels of emotional intelligence
including emotional perception, the ability to reason using emotions, the ability to
understand emotions, and the ability to manage emotions. 1

1. Perceiving emotions: The first step in understanding emotions is to

perceive them accurately. In many cases, this might involve
understanding nonverbal signals such as body language and facial
expressions.
 2. Reasoning with emotions: The next step involves using emotions to
promote thinking and cognitive activity. Emotions help prioritize what we
pay attention and react to; we respond emotionally to things that garner
our attention.
3. Understanding emotions: The emotions that we perceive can carry a
wide variety of meanings. If someone is expressing angry emotions, the
observer must interpret the cause of the person's anger and what it could
mean. For example, if your boss is acting angry, it might mean that they
are dissatisfied with your work, or it could be because they got a
speeding ticket on their way to work that morning or that they've been
fighting with their partner.
4. Managing emotions: The ability to manage emotions effectively is a
crucial part of emotional intelligence and the highest level. Regulating
emotions and responding appropriately as well as responding to the
emotions of others are all important aspects of emotional management.

The four branches of this model are arranged by complexity with the more basic
processes at the lower levels and the more advanced processes at the higher levels.
For example, the lowest levels involve perceiving and expressing emotion, while
higher levels require greater conscious involvement and involve regulating emotions.

6. How to build your emotional intelligence

Building emotional intelligence: Four key skills to increasing your EQ

The skills that make up emotional intelligence can be learned at any time. However,
it’s important to remember that there is a difference between simply learning about
EQ and applying that knowledge to your life. Just because you know you should do
something doesn’t mean you will—especially when you become overwhelmed by
stress, which can override your best intentions. In order to permanently change
behavior in ways that stand up under pressure, you need to learn how to overcome
stress in the moment, and in your relationships, in order to remain emotionally
aware.

The key skills for building your EQ and improving your ability to manage emotions
and connect with others are:

Self-management

In order for you to engage your EQ, you must be able use your emotions to make
constructive decisions about your behavior. When you become overly stressed, you
can lose control of your emotions and the ability to act thoughtfully and appropriately.
Self-awareness

It’s important that you learn how to manage stress first, so you’ll feel more
comfortable reconnecting to strong or unpleasant emotions and changing how you
experience and respond to your feelings. You can develop your emotional
awareness by using HelpGuide’s free Emotional Intelligence Toolkit.

Social awareness

Social awareness enables you to recognize and interpret the mainly nonverbal cues
others are constantly using to communicate with you. These cues let you know how
others are really feeling, how their emotional state is changing from moment to
moment, and what’s truly important to them.

Relationship management

Working well with others is a process that begins with emotional awareness and your
ability to recognize and understand what other people are experiencing.

-Become aware of how effectively you use nonverbal communication.

-Use humor and play to relieve stress.

-Learn to see conflict as an opportunity to grow closer to others.

7. How to use your emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence can be used in many different ways in your daily life. Some
different ways to practice emotional intelligence include:
- Being able to say no when you need to.
- Being able to share your feelings with others.
- Having empathy for other people.
- Not being judgemental of others.
- Being able to accept criticism and responsibility.
- Being able to move on after making a mistake.
- Being able to solve problems in ways that work for everyone.
- Having great listening skills.
- Knowing why you do the things you do.

Emotional intelligence is essential for good interpersonal communication. Some

experts believe that this ability is more important in determining life success than IQ
alone. Fortunately, there are things that you can do to strengthen your own social
and emotional intelligence.
Understanding emotions can be the key to better relationships, improved well-being,
and stronger communication skills.

8. Tips for improving your emotional intelligence

Observe how you react to people. Do you rush to judgment before you know all of
the facts? Do you stereotype? Look honestly at how you think and interact with other
people. Try to put yourself in their place , and be more open and accepting of their
perspectives and needs.

Look at your work environment. Do you seek attention for your accomplishments?
Humility can be a wonderful quality, and it doesn't mean that you're shy or lack self-
confidence. When you practice humility, you say that you know what you did, and
you can be quietly confident about it. Give others a chance to shine – put the focus
on them, and don't worry too much about getting praise for yourself.

Do a self-evaluation. Try out our emotional intelligence quiz . What are your
weaknesses? Are you willing to accept that you're not perfect and that you could
work on some areas to make yourself a better person? Have the courage to look at
yourself honestly – it can change your life.

Examine how you react to stressful situations. Do you become upset every time
there's a delay or something doesn't happen the way you want? Do you blame
others or become angry at them, even when it's not their fault? The ability to stay
calm and in control in difficult situations is highly valued – in the business world and
outside it. Keep your emotions under control when things go wrong.

Take responsibility for your actions. If you hurt someone's feelings, apologize
directly – don't ignore what you did or avoid the person. People are usually more
willing to forgive and forget if you make an honest attempt to make things right.

– before you take those actions. If your decision will impact others, put yourself in
their place. How will they feel if you do this? Would you want that experience? If you
must take action, how can you help others deal with the effects?
Bibliographic references

● Segal, J., Smith, M., Robinson, L., & Shubin, J. (2021, july 19th). Improving
Emotional Intelligence (EQ). HelpGuide.Org.
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/emotional-intelligence-
eq.htm
● Cherry, K. (2020, june 4th). How Emotionally Intelligent Are You? Verywell
Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-emotional-intelligence-2795423