What is Emotional Intelligence? Emotional intelligence (EI) refers to the ability to perceive, control and evalu ate emotions.

Some researchers suggest that emotional intelligence can be learne d and strengthened, while others claim it is an inborn characteristic. Since 1990, Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer have been the leading researchers on emotional intelligence. In their influential article "Emotional Intelligence," they defined emotional intelligence as, "the subset of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one's own and others' feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one's thinking and actions" (1990). The Four Branches of Emotional Intelligence Salovey and Mayer proposed a model that identified four different factors of emo tional intelligence: the perception of emotion, the ability reason using emotion s, the ability to understand emotion and the ability to manage emotions. Perceiving Emotions: The first step in understanding emotions is to accu rately perceive them. In many cases, this might involve understanding nonverbal signals such as body language and facial expressions. Reasoning With Emotions: The next step involves using emotions to promot e thinking and cognitive activity. Emotions help prioritize what we pay attentio n and react to; we respond emotionally to things that garner our attention. Understanding Emotions: The emotions that we perceive can carry a wide v ariety of meanings. If someone is expressing angry emotions, the observer must i nterpret the cause of their anger and what it might mean. For example, if your b oss is acting angry, it might mean that he is dissatisfied with your work; or it could be because he got a speeding ticket on his way to work that morning or th at he's been fighting with his wife. Managing Emotions: The ability to manage emotions effectively is a key p art of emotional intelligence. Regulating emotions, responding appropriately and responding to the emotions of others are all important aspect of emotional mana gement. According to Salovey and Mayer, the four branches of their model are, "arranged from more basic psychological processes to higher, more psychologically integrat ed processes. For example, the lowest level branch concerns the (relatively) sim ple abilities of perceiving and expressing emotion. In contrast, the highest lev el branch concerns the conscious, reflective regulation of emotion" (1997). What everyone needs to know. Emotional Intelligence Is the Other Kind of Smart. When emotional intelligence first garnered significant media attention back in t he 1990s, it really hit home for people. For the first time we all had an explan ation for an unusual finding: people of average intelligence outperform people w ith the highest levels of intelligence the vast majority of the time (70% to be exact). Suddenly we had a name for the main determinant of success in life: emot ional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is critical to managing your behavior, moving smoothly th rough social situations, and making critical choices in life. There are four emo tional intelligence skills and they group under two primary competencies: person al competence and social competence. Self-Awareness is how accurately you can identify your emotions in the moment an d understand your tendencies across time and situation.

Self-Management is how you use awareness of your emotions to create the behavior that you want. Social Awareness is how well you read the emotions of other people. Relationship Management is how you use the first three emotional intelligence sk ills to manage your interactions with other people. Emotional Intelligence (EQ), Intelligence (IQ), and Personality Are Not Connecte d. The three do not go together in any meaningful way. Emotional intelligence expla ins a fundamental element of your behavior that is unique from your intellect. Y ou cannot determine someone's IQ based on their EQ and vice versa. Intelligence is how quickly you absorb new information and it does not change throughout your life. Emotional intelligence is unique because it is a flexible skill that you can improve with practice. Anyone can develop a high degree of emotional intelli gence. Like IQ, your personality does not change. Personality is the style with which y ou approach the world: what motivates you and the people and situations that giv e you energy (versus those that drain it). One example of this is the tendency w e all have to be introverted or extroverted. Emotional Intelligence Dictates Performance. Emotional intelligence has a massive impact upon personal and professional succe ss. TalentSmart has measured the EQ of close to a million people now and we find that this skill accounts for 58% of performance in all types of jobs. Emotions are the primary driver of our behavior. Working to improve your emotional intell igence results in improvements in many areas of your behavior. We've found that more than 90% of top performers have high EQs. High EQ individuals make $29,000 more on average than those with low EQs and every point you add to your EQ adds $1,300 to your annual salary. You can read more about this research in the #1 be stselling emotional intelligence book, Emotional Intelligence 2.0. Just click th e link at the top of this page that says "EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE BOOK." Emotional Intelligence Can Be Increased With Practice Your brain is hard-wired to give emotions the upper hand. The limbic system (the emotional brain) reacts to events first before we have the opportunity to engag e the rational brain. The communication between these two areas of the brain is the very definition of emotional intelligence. EQ requires effective communicati on between the rational and emotional centers of the brain. Plasticity is the term used to describe the brain's ability to grow new connection s between neurons that facilitates the use of new behaviors. Your brain loves ef ficiency: the skills you practice are the skills your brain will make it easier for you to repeat. When you work to increase your EQ, the billions of microscopi c neurons lining the road between the rational and emotional centers of your bra in branch off small arms to communicate with the cells around them. A single cell can grow upwards of 10,000 connections to the cells around it.

What everyone needs to know. Emotional Intelligence Is the Other Kind of Smart. When emotional intelligence first garnered significant media attention back in t he 1990s, it really hit home for people. For the first time we all had an explan ation for an unusual finding: people of average intelligence outperform people w ith the highest levels of intelligence the vast majority of the time (70% to be exact). Suddenly we had a name for the main determinant of success in life: emot ional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is critical to managing your behavior, moving smoothly th rough social situations, and making critical choices in life. There are four emo

tional intelligence skills and they group under two primary competencies: person al competence and social competence. Self-Awareness is how accurately you can identify your emotions in the momen t and understand your tendencies across time and situation. Self-Management is how you use awareness of your emotions to create the beha vior that you want. Social Awareness is how well you read the emotions of other people. Relationship Management is how you use the first three emotional intelligenc e skills to manage your interactions with other people. Emotional Intelligence (EQ), Intelligence (IQ), and Personality Are Not Connecte d. The three do not go together in any meaningful way. Emotional intelligence expla ins a fundamental element of your behavior that is unique from your intellect. Y ou cannot determine someone's IQ based on their EQ and vice versa. Intelligence is how quickly you absorb new information and it does not change throughout your life. Emotional intelligence is unique because it is a flexible skill that you can improve with practice. Anyone can develop a high degree of emotional intelli gence. Like IQ, your personality does not change. Personality is the style with which y ou approach the world: what motivates you and the people and situations that giv e you energy (versus those that drain it). One example of this is the tendency w e all have to be introverted or extroverted. Emotional Intelligence Dictates Performance. Emotional intelligence has a massive impact upon personal and professional succe ss. TalentSmart has measured the EQ of close to a million people now and we find that this skill accounts for 58% of performance in all types of jobs. Emotions are the primary driver of our behavior. Working to improve your emotional intell igence results in improvements in many areas of your behavior. We've found that more than 90% of top performers have high EQs. High EQ individuals make $29,000 more on average than those with low EQs and every point you add to your EQ adds $1,300 to your annual salary. You can read more about this research in the #1 be stselling emotional intelligence book, Emotional Intelligence 2.0. Just click th e link at the top of this page that says "EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE BOOK." Emotional Intelligence Can Be Increased With Practice Your brain is hard-wired to give emotions the upper hand. The limbic system (the emotional brain) reacts to events first before we have the opportunity to engag e the rational brain. The communication between these two areas of the brain is the very definition of emotional intelligence. EQ requires effective communicati on between the rational and emotional centers of the brain. Plasticity is the term used to describe the brain's ability to grow new connection s between neurons that facilitates the use of new behaviors. Your brain loves ef ficiency: the skills you practice are the skills your brain will make it easier for you to repeat. When you work to increase your EQ, the billions of microscopi c neurons lining the road between the rational and emotional centers of your bra in branch off small arms to communicate with the cells around them. A single cell can grow upwards of 10,000 connections to the cells around it. ,