Over the past few years, emotional intelligence (or EQ for short) has become one of the most popular workplace qualities to promote. Companies are offering courses and seminars about it, and employees are being asked to assess their own levels in this skill.

Many feel that if they improve their level of EQ then their career will take off more quickly or that their relationships with others will be healthier. It is even said that having high EQ can boost your salary!

But while there is some truth in these claims, they also pose some important questions. First, what exactly is emotional intelligence? And second, how can we increase our EQ – and use it in ourselves and those around us?

In this article, we will look at several strategies for improving your EQ. We will focus not only on the skills themselves, but why they matter and how to apply them in daily life.

Held up as a “skill”, however, many people perceive EQ as something special that only certain individuals have. This perception creates an imbalance — those with higher EQ are seen as superior, whereas everyone else is thought to lack it.

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This isn’t true. Everyone can learn to show empathy, understand other people’s emotions, and identify their own feelings. In fact, developing the ability to recognize and manage your own emotion and other people’s may be the biggest key to success in the future.

Make eye contact

Most people feel that if they can’t make other people laugh then they are not doing their job, but this is very different from being able to read someone else’s emotions. This is emotional intelligence! Being able to read another person’s emotions takes more than just knowing what things make them happy or sad; it is also about how well you understand relationships.

Making direct eye contact with someone is one of the most effective ways to establish strong interpersonal connections. When you look directly into someone’s eyes, you show them respect, trust, and interest in who they are as a person. It makes them think that you care about them, which clearly shows in the work environment.

Direct eye contact is a powerful way to connect with others. Not only does it strengthen friendship bonds, it boosts teamwork effectiveness and motivation.

Be consistent

Consistency is one of the biggest keys to developing your emotional intelligence. This can mean anything from going to yoga classes every week, to practicing mindfulness exercises or meditation at home every day.

Consistency in how you spend your time helps develop skills such as motivation, self-control, and responsibility. These are all important qualities for someone with low emotional intelligence.

You need to recognize that you will not change yourself unless you are willing to put in the effort. It takes repeated action over an extended period of time.

But don’t expect quick results. The more you practice, the more emotionally intelligent you become.

Be realistic

Many things that are referred to as ‘emotional intelligence’s’ are actually just looking into your own internal experiences, and how you relate to others.

This is not emotional-intelligence per se, but rather self-awareness or understanding yourself. For example, if someone makes you feel bad for something they said, then it can be helpful to take note of what part of you made you feel this way and why.

Self-reflection is one of the most important skills we have as humans. We spend a lot of time thinking about other people, and trying to understand their behavior, but very little time investing in ourselves.

Share your experiences

Many people believe that being emotionally intelligent means to understand what emotions other people are feeling and then responding in a way that is more effective in changing their mood.

This assumption may be wrong.

It can actually go much deeper than that. It includes knowing how to recognize, identify and manage your own feelings.

Self-awareness is an important part of emotional intelligence. You have to know who you are before you can help someone else learn about themselves or use you as a tool to work through something.

That’s why it’s so crucial to develop self-esteem. A person with high self-esteem is aware of his or her strengths and weaknesses, which makes them feel confident in themselves.

Another key component of emotional intelligence is empathy. Not only do you have to share others’ feelings, but you have to truly understand how they got there for proper understanding to occur.

Be honest with your peers

As discussed earlier, emotional intelligence is like IQ in that it can be improved, but what people often do not realize is how differently individuals perceive and use emotions.

People who have low levels of EQ may put up more barriers to avoid being hurt or may play down their own feelings for fear of being seen as less than someone else. This sometimes works, but usually backfires later when they are offended by something or feel bad about themselves because you denied them an argument.

Alternatively, some people seem to enjoy causing pain to others, making it hard for them to relate to other people.

The thing about emotionally intelligent people is that if they try to keep things light and playful, it does not mean they don’t care. It just means they process emotion more quickly so there is no need to say much beyond “yes” or “no”.

If you want to see true changes in someone’s level of emotional intelligence, be honest with them- tell them why you didn’t agree with them or ask them whether they thought you were right.

Don’t worry too much about changing who they are, instead focus on helping them manage their own emotions better so that they can contribute more to the group.

By being able to recognize and control your own emotions, you will also learn how to help others do the same.

Listen to others closely

One of the most important things that can improve your emotional intelligence is listening to other people. You’ll probably have to do this for several reasons, but mostly because they will tell you something about yourself.

By paying attention to what other people say, how they speak, what body language they use, and whether there are different levels in their conversation with you; you’ll get insights into who they are as individuals.

This will help you understand them as well as determine if they like or trust you. It also helps when deciding if you should take someone else’s job, or if they’re worthy of respect.

On top of all of these, listening gives you an understanding of time frames too – how long it takes people to be settled in a situation, and how much energy they have before they run out.

If you’ve ever noticed that some people seem to spend a lot of time talking, while other people seem to withdraw and keep to themselves more; this information comes from studying psychology.

Don’t be egotistical

One of the biggest reasons people lack emotional intelligence is because they are too focused on themselves. They feel that their personal success is more important than helping others succeed, or even knowing what to do when someone else fails.

This can sometimes backfire on them as well. When someone does not perform their job properly, they may go out of their way to defend themselves, creating a bad situation for everyone.

If a coworker has made you angry frequently, it could be because they have strong emotions and don’thave adequate control over them. It might be time to look into whether they need a new position or if they are just not working here.

By this point, you have probably noticed a pattern. People with higher levels of emotional intelligence understand that being less involved in social situations means things will eventually run its course.

They will still enjoy those conversations, but at some point they must make room for other activities. This creates a healthier balance, which helps you relax and focus on your own life instead of chasing something outside of yourself.

Be humble

A key aspect of emotional intelligence is being able to recognize your own strengths and weaknesses. While it may seem easy for some people, it’s not very popular to be smart these days.

Many people feel that getting good grades proves that you are intelligent. Or if you are well-liked, then you must be intelligent as well.

It takes a lot more than just having a nice smile to call yourself a person who has mastered emotionality.

– Being honest with yourself doesn’t make you a liar. It makes you human.

– Don’t believe everything that others tell you about themselves – they might not be telling the truth either.