How To Apply Emotional Intelligence In Real Life
In the blog post “The Set Up,” Andrew Latona points out the importance of Emotional Intelligence in the statement “Research suggests that anywhere from 50–80% of communication is nonverbal so it just makes sense that any professional, or any person in general for that matter, would want to master these skills and unlock their fullest EI potential.” With that being said, in this post, I will show you different ways to practice your EI.
According to the blog post “5 Simple Ways to Boost Your Emotional Intelligence,” Larry Kim provides some helpful tips to improve this soft skill.
- Stay cool:
Literally. Researchers found that body temperatures, heart rate and blood pressure can influence our decisions in problematic situations, and also link to success. The best ways to keep yourself cool is to destress by taking a walk outside, or washing your face with cold water.
2. Put yourself in others’ shoes:
People’s opinions, judgments or demands can cause negative reactions. Often enough, this is the situation that we all face in any types of environment whether it’s work, family or friends. However, to avoid having a negative reactions, try to look at things from other’s perspectives. Examine and think about their actions before reacting.
3. Having backup plans after backup plans:
To better prepare for unwanted outcomes and having that affect your emotions, drawing out potential outcomes can help to solve this problem. A lot of times, things will not turn out as you expected. Therefore, having back up plans and be emotionally prepared for these situations can keep you calm and improve the situation.
4. Be definite:
To demonstrate emotional intelligence, try to focus and be straightforward with all of your actions including the bad ones. Be definite with yourself helps you to identify your actions. From that, you will be able to improve upon the bad ones and be proud of the good ones.
5. Practice your EI on others:
Given that Emotional Intelligence is the ability to influence emotions of others. When a colleague, a friend or a family member comes up to you feeling irritated, angry or stressed out, help them to get through that state. Dealing with people and situations as such can also help to increase your EI level since it says a great deal about your Emotional Intelligence.
Personally, I have improved my EI by putting myself in others’ perspectives. When I have a conversation with another person, I try to listen attentively and analyze why they react a certain way. Even if it made me feel uncomfortable, I still tried to stay calm and talk to resolve the problem.
Kim, L. (2016, September 10). 5 Simple Ways to Boost Your Emotional Intelligence — ThinkGrowth.org. Retrieved October 03, 2017, from https://thinkgrowth.org/5-simple-ways-to-boost-your-emotional-intelligence-3ac49a750cb4
Latona, A. (2017, September 20). The Setup. Retrieved October 03, 2017, from https://medium.com/soft-skill-hacking-emotional-intelligence/the-setup-1bd345680bc8
