Emotional intelligence (EI) involves  your ability to recognize, understand and mange your emotions. It  is a type of intelligence you want to grow in order to become more interpersonally effective. It helps you in all relationships. When you use your emotional intelligence, you are able to impact other people in positive ways.

People also like to be around someone with emotional intelligence because they feel the person is tracking with them, understands them and is responsive. So ask yourself, what can I do to boost this type of intelligence? Here are 6 ways to begin:

1. Cultivate empathy and learn from your personal experiences. When you try to put yourself in someone else shoes, this is a relationship skill that will serve you well. Everyone wants to be understood and heard. Empathy broadens your view of people and the world. It also brings a heart of compassion. It can be learned and practiced.
2. Build your self-awareness. Surround yourself with people who will give you feedback on your behavior.  They should be people you trust. This will help you grow if you listen without becoming defensive. Also, become aware of your own emotional reactions to people and situations. Stop, think about how you reacted and then decide if it was the way you want to be. If not, practice a new response.
3. Albert Einstein once said, “I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”  Being curious about people, situations, events, and your environment will build your emotional intelligence. Asking questions and learning about something new broadens your world. In the process of exploration, force yourself to tolerate ambiguity while you dig into a a learning area. That ambiguity will keep you motivated to learn more.
4. Don’t just accept things on face value, analyze the situation. Think about why someone says or does something, how you could handle something differently and what influences impact a person or situation. Analyzing also requires curiosity. The more curious you are about why something happens, the more you will deepen your EI.
5. Be passionate about who you are and what you do. Passion is infectious and draws people to you. It helps you move through difficult times. When you are passionate, it rubs off on other people and encourages them. They see you embracing something important to you, not giving up and going for the goal.
6. Be flexible and adaptable. Emotionally intelligent people can read a room and adapt to the situation. When something isn’t working, they can pivot and change directions. This is a life skill that will help you deal with curve balls that get thrown your way. An obstacle may present, but when you can pivot and go another direction to get to the goal, you’ve moved forward.