Emotional intelligence (EI) refers to an individual’s awareness of their emotions, the emotions of others, and the ability to manage them and act appropriately. These abilities are important for individuals that work in helping professions, sales, and public relations. These skills are also important to individuals needing to maintain or improve personal relationships such as students, teachers, parents, and pastors. In other words everyone needs EI. Researchers commonly assumed that EI has five components. They are:
Self-awareness. The ability to recognize and understand personal dispositions and emotions and drives, as well as their effect on others.
Self-regulation. The capability to governor or redirect troublesome impulses and moods, and the tendency to suspend judgment and to think before acting.
Internal motivation. A desire to perform for intrinsic reasons that go beyond income and fame -which are external rewards, – such as, a joy in doing something or curiosity in learning.
Empathy. The ability to understand the emotional nature of other people and responding to their their emotional reactions.
Social skills. The knack for managing relationships and building networks of people by finding common ground and rapport.
Many successful people have these skills and the good news is that with training you can improve their your EI. Abe et al. (2013) demonstrated this point in a pilot intervention for medical students. The results of their study indicate that skills training can make an immediate and long-term impact on the emotional awareness of individuals. It is important to note that the skills training focused on building skills needed for self-awareness and empathy. The primary activities in the intervention involved expressing one feelings and listening to others.
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