Increase Your Emotional Intelligence by Expanding Your Vocabulary
We all have feelings and emotions, but it is more difficult for others to accurately express them. If this sounds like you and you want to develop your emotional intelligence, you can start by expanding your emotional vocabulary.
Our emotional intelligence is what helps us explore everyday social interactions with an understanding of others and how we should behave with them. To be emotionally intelligent, you must not only understand how others are feeling and show empathy, but also know how to express how you feel. On his LinkedIn blog, Travis Bradburry, co-author of Emotional Intelligence 2.0 and president of TalentSmart , looked at over a million people who tested it with TalentSmart to find out what the most common qualities of emotionally smart people are. The ability to express yourself is one of the most important:
… that unmarked emotions are often misunderstood, leading to irrational choices and counterproductive actions. People with high EQs (like IQ, but for emotional intelligence) manage their emotions because they understand them, and for this they use a vast vocabulary of feelings. While many people may describe themselves simply as “bad,” emotionally intelligent people can determine whether they feel “irritable,” “frustrated,” “depressed,” or “anxious.” The more accurately you choose the word, the better you will understand exactly what you are feeling, what caused it, and what to do about it.
Being specific will help you identify the problem and help others understand what’s going on in your head. Communication is an important aspect of emotional intelligence, but you cannot convey anything if you don’t know how to identify it. The next time you get a sense of something, try to find the most accurate word that describes it. If you don’t know where to start, you can start with this wheel of emotional vocabulary . With practice, you will not only help yourself but others as well. Follow the link below to learn about other traits of emotionally intelligent people.
Are you emotionally intelligent? Here’s How To Find Out For sure | LinkedIn