Emotional intellgence is the intelligence/skill involving the ability to perceive, gauge and influence (positively) one’s own and other people’s emotions.

While most people think of IQ is of primary importance, EI (or EQ) has actually risen in popularity over the past few years. This is particularly true in workplace human resource management. No matter how high an IQ a person has, no organization wants a top thinking crybaby.

So, here are some tips on improving EI I picked up from the web:

• Become emotionally literate. Label your feelings, rather than labeling people or situations.
• Distinguish between thoughts and feelings.
• Take more responsibility for your feelings.
• Use your feelings to help them make decisions.
• Show respect for other people’s feelings.
• Feel energized, not angry.
• Validate other people’s feelings.
• Practice getting a positive value from emotions.
• Don’t advise, command, control, criticize, judge or lecture to others.
• Avoid people who invalidate you.

Source: eqi.org