MODULE 8: EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

I. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
- ability to understand, use, and manage our emotions; sometimes called EQ
- helps us build strong relationships, make good decisions, and deal with difficult situations
- part of being people-smart
II. IMPROVING YOUR EQ
A. BEING AWARE OF YOUR EMOTIONS
▪ simply noticing our emotions as we feel them
▪ helps us understand how other people feel
▪ practice recognizing emotions as you feel them
▪ label them in your mind and make it a daily habit
B. UNDERSTANDING HOW OTHERS FEEL AND WHY
▪ being able to imagine how other people might feel in certain situations
▪ understanding why they feel the way they do
▪ Empathy – being able to imagine what emotions a person is likely to be feeling (even
when you don’t actually know); helps us care about others and build good friendships and
relationships; guides us on what to say and how to behave around someone who is feeling
strong emotions
C. MANAGING EMOTIONAL REACTIONS
▪ knowing when, where, and how to express yourself
▪ you can use self-control to hold a reaction if now is not the right time or place to express
it
D. CHOOSING YOUR MOOD
▪ choosing the right mood can help us get motivated, concentrate on a task, or try again
instead of giving up
▪ Moods – emotional states that last a bit
III. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE: UNDER CONSTRUCTION
1. RECOGNIZING WHAT WE FEEL
2. UNDERSTANDING HOW WE GOT THERE
3. UNDERSTANDING HOW OTHERS FEEL AND WHY
4. PUTTING OUR EMOTIONS INTO HEARTFELT WORDS WHEN WE NEED TO
IV. EMOTIONAL SELF-AWARENESS
- ability to recognize one’s own feelings
V. TYPES OF RESPONSES
1. PASSIVE RESPONSE
▪ not expressing your own needs and feelings, or expressing them so weakly that they will
not be addressed
▪ not usually in our best interest because it allows other people to violate our rights
2. AGGRESSIVE RESPONSE
▪ asking for what you want or saying how you feel in a threatening, sarcastic or humiliating
way that may offend the other person(s)
▪ never in our best interest because it almost always leads to increased conflict
3. ASSERTIVE RESPONSE
▪ asking for what you want or saying how you feel in an honest and respectful way that
does not infringe on another person’s right or put the individual down
▪ almost always in our best interest