9 SKILLS OF PEOPLE WITH EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE - GEOGRAFÍA - 2025

The people with emotional intelligence have a set of skills related to perception, management and regulation of emotions and feelings and those of others. A part of these skills can be genetically configured but most can be learned during life, from childhood to adult life.

How do you know if you have emotional intelligence? Here are ten skills with which you can tell if you have IE. If you consider that you do not have any of them, you can start to work on them and you will observe that your personal relationships improve.

Capabilities of people with high emotional intelligence

Self-awareness

Self-awareness consists of knowing how to identify, perceive and express your emotions and feelings, as well as those of others.

In addition, you are able to identify emotions in sketches, works of art, architecture, through language, sound, etc.

Understanding and analysis of emotions

You know how to name and value your emotions and feelings. You spend some time analyzing situations and identifying the emotions you have experienced, and you do it automatically

Some questions to ask yourself when analyzing your emotions are: Is it a new emotion? Have I experienced this before? How do I feel? All this makes you understand and know yourself and others better.

Regulation of emotions

You have the ability to be open to any emotion or feeling, and you can tolerate them regardless of whether they are good or bad.

You know how to approach or distance yourself from these feelings or emotions depending on whether they suit you or not. Finally, you take advantage of these emotions and feelings by mitigating the negatives and intensifying the positives.

For example: if you are very angry, you know how to identify it and do something to avoid acting inappropriately or that you may regret.

Verbal and non-verbal communication skills

When you have emotional intelligence, you know how to express your emotions and feelings appropriately, as well as express the needs related to these feelings. You have a rich emotional vocabulary.

You also have skills for body language; you know how to communicate assertively with your body and you know how to read what other people transmit with their body.

Social skills

You know how to relate to others. Assertiveness and active listening play a very important role here.

If you have developed your emotional intelligence, you are assertive, that is, you know how to defend your opinions and rights without attacking or offending those of others. In addition, you know how to practice active listening by making the other person see that you are interested in what they are telling you, making it clear that you have understood their message.

These two qualities, active listening and assertiveness, are vital for successful social relationships and for avoiding or managing conflict with others.

Empathy

This ability is closely linked to the previous ones. You have empathy when you understand and feel what other people feel.

You know how to put yourself in the place of others experiencing their same emotions and feelings. This will make it easier for you to connect with others. It is a vital skill for the psychologist since patients need to feel understood.

Motivation skills

You know how to set clear, specific and meaningful goals and you have enough capacity to achieve them. This is what we know as “self-motivation” and it is a fundamental requirement for personal success and positive mental health.

The strength and energy you get from self-motivation make you optimistic and surround yourself with positive things. Which means that you achieve your goals more easily and quickly and, therefore, that you are happier and have a more fulfilling and interesting life.

Self control

You have control over your emotions and feelings. You know how to reduce your negative thoughts and increase the positive ones. Being able to also control your impulses and your behavior.

This makes you a balanced, persevering and stable person. Self-control can be observed if you have a normal life, routine, enough hours of sleep, free time after work, you strive to get what you want…

Stress management and problem solving skills

Stress is a reaction mechanism that all people have and that is activated when a problem appears for which we do not have enough resources.

This is necessary since it allows us to be prepared to respond quickly. The problem appears when this mechanism always remains activated.

If you have developed your emotional intelligence, you will know how to face these stressful situations by applying one or several coping strategies (distancing, confrontation, seeking social support, etc.), which will allow you to better solve your problems.

It is important to mention the vital role that relaxation and meditation techniques (Mindfulness) play in this skill, since the daily practice of these makes you better manage your problems and stress situations.

Adaptability

You have the ability to cope with changes, new situations, and other pressures that can occur in your life.

This makes you a flexible person and gives you the ability to respond efficiently to any situation that comes your way, adjusting your behavior according to the needs of the moment.

Innovation, creativity and curiosity

It is related to adaptability, since to be able to face change situations, you have to innovate, since the response or strategy to be used will not always be the same.

The fact of innovating makes you a creative and curious person, since it allows you to develop your imagination, explore new possibilities and have an open mind.

Independence and decision making

The development of emotional intelligence also makes you an independent person, since EI provides you with sufficient resources to deal with the problems that may arise in your life.

If you have a high emotional intelligence, it will be easier for you to make appropriate decisions independently.

You are curious to meet other people

People with IE are curious to meet other people. This is related to being empathetic. If you don't have empathy, you don't care about others. If you have it, you know how to put yourself in the place of others and you care about them.

You know your weaknesses and strengths

If you have emotional intelligence you will be able to know yourself, your personal weaknesses and strengths. This is essential to be able to work on your weaknesses or to take advantage of your strengths.

You know how to keep limits and you don't let yourself be manipulated

People with IE have personal limits, that is, they know what they admit and what not of others. In addition, they are not manipulable, if they really do not want something, they do not accept it and they know how to take no for an answer.

References

1. "What is the Theory of Mind?" by J. Tirapu-Ustárroz, G. Pérez-Sayes, M. Erekatxo-Bilbao, C. Pelegrín-Valero (2007).
2. Goleman. D, (1996), Emotional Intelligence, Kairós: Spain.
3. Bar-On, R. and Parker, JDA (2000). The Handbook of Emotional Intelligence, Jossey-Bass: California.
4. De Gelder, B. (2006) Towards the neurobiology of emotional body language. Nature Reviews Neuroscience.