In a time where communication is reliant on technology and social media, the quality of our human relationships should be a growing concern. While we usually focus on technical skills in personal and professional development, emotional intelligence (EI) is often disregarded. Emotional intelligence means being able to notice and change other people’s emotions and also know how to handle and use your own. Emotional intelligence can help us build better relationships, understand how others feel, and make our personal and work lives more interesting.
Emotional intelligence is mostly based on self-/social- awareness, self-regulation, and relationship management, among several basic elements. Knowing your own strengths and weaknesses as well as having full understanding of your emotions is what makes up self-awareness. This information is essential since it lays the groundwork for our handling of challenges and stress. When someone criticizes them, a self-aware person may be able to see their first protective reply and choose a better one. This self-discipline helps you get along well with others. Emotion control reduces impulsive actions and encourages more deliberate and calm behavior in many situations.
Understanding and being able to relate to other people are the most typical manifestations of emotional intelligence. Having empathy and being able to read social cues are the bedrocks of social awareness. In a team setting, this can mean being attuned to the needs of your colleagues or learning to read their nonverbal signs, like anxiety. As we work to increase social awareness, we may strengthen our relationships by creating a welcoming space where people feel appreciated and recognized. The capacity to communicate clearly and peacefully is at the heart of relationship management, which is all about making and keeping friends.
Every aspect of our relationships, from personal to professional, may be improved by applying the concepts of emotional intelligence. People are more likely to work together and generate new ideas when they are encouraged to speak freely in the workplace. The group’s ability to make decisions is enhanced when team members are able to express themselves freely without fear of criticism. People are happier and more fulfilled in their professional lives as a result of this transparency, which also makes teamwork easier.
Developing our emotional intelligence in daily life helps us to relate to friends and relatives. Relationships might improve with simple gestures of respect, awareness of emotions, and active listening. Deeper cooperation results when we face challenges with sensitivity and knowledge. Emotional intelligence enables us to resolve conflicts gracefully and foster lifetime trust that withstands adversity. Although developing your emotional intelligence is a lifetime process, the advantages—better relationships and a more fulfilling life—make it well worth the effort. Practicing emotional intelligence helps us to develop our own abilities as well as those of those around us, which sets off a series of favorable events in our local communities.
Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2017). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. In SAGE Publications, Inc. eBooks. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781071800591.
I really enjoyed reading your blog. You gave really great points about emotional intelligence, communication in technology and many more. The sources you used also gave great facts too. Emotional intelligence is really important in realtionships because you’re showing respect, and develop those emotions that you tend to use for each other through friends, work relationships and close relationships.
Emotional intelligence is key to success in life. For example, someone can be extremely bright and book smart, but if they lack emotional intelligence it will hold them back from promotions in the workplace. Arguably, having high emotional intelligence is more important when determining success. Having the ability to emphasize and be connected to the people around you will leave a lasting and positive impression on people. Moreover, emotional intelligence will help in your romantic relationships. Couples with high emotional intelligence communicate and manage conflict more effectively. Ultimately, we should all strive to improve our emotional intelligence as it will reap tremendous rewards.
Great topic, I enjoyed reading your post! Emotional intelligence is a concept that wasn’t widely recognized or discussed when I was younger, but something I started hearing and reading more about over the past 10 years or so. Emotional intelligence has a tremendous impact on the quality of our relationships, including those with family and friends, as well as colleagues and acquaintances, and even in interactions with strangers. Our emotional intelligence and ability to regulate our emotions are also associated with better physical and mental health, and predictive of success in multiple life domains (Wiginton, 2024). Emotions ebb and flow, but how one recognizes and responds to emotions – both our own and those of others – can have a lasting impact on our relationships.
For adolescents and adults who want to increase their emotional intelligence, some strategies include practice with recognizing and understanding emotions, practice in regulating emotions (particularly in high-stress or negative emotion-inducing situations), practice in perspective-taking to cultivate empathy and compassion, practicing active listening, embracing a growth mindset, and practicing clear communication (Wiginton, 2024). Regularly reading fiction is another effective – and fun! – way to increase empathy (a component of emotional intelligence), as it involves investing in stories from diverse perspectives (Bal & Veltkamp, 2013).
Children also benefit from emotional skill development with reading books, whether children’s books or self-made books (Xu, 2024). In an interventional study conducted by Jiamin Xu (2024), dialogic reading exercises translated into improved abilities for emotional recognition, expression, regulation, and empathy in the classroom. Behaviors modelled by parents, teachers, and other important figures in their lives can also influence the development of children’s and adolescents’ emotional intelligence (Chung & Han, 2024). Emotional intelligence is associated with prosocial behavior, particularly for individuals 7-18 years old (Cao & Chen, 2024), underscoring the importance in helping kids and teens develop their emotional intelligence, benefitting their own relationships and communities more broadly.
References:
Bal, P. M. & Veltkamp, M. (2013). How does fiction reading influence empathy? An experimental investigation on the role of emotional transportation. PLoS One, 8(1): e55341.
Cao, X. & Chen, J. (2024). The association between emotional intelligence and prosocial behaviors in children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. DOI: 10.1007/s10964-024-02062-y
Chung, H. & Han, E. (2024). How does emotional intelligence develop in early childhood? A meta-analysis of two perspectives on emotional intelligence. Early Years: An International Journal of Research and Development. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2024.2378377
Wiginton, K. (2024, July 9). What is emotional intelligence? WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/what-is-emotional-intelligence
Xu, J. (2024). Developing emotional intelligence in children through dialogic reading, self-made books, and visible thinking routines. Early Childhood Education Journal, 52(7): 1693-1705.