Improving Your Emotional Intelligence In A Day For Dummies
by Steven J. Stein, PhD
Improving Your Emotional Intelligence In A Day For Dummies
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ISBN 978-1-118-53894-4 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-53895-1 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-53896-8 (ebk)
Manufactured in the United States of America
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Introduction
E motional intelligence it sounds like an oxymoron, doesnt it? Just like jumbo shrimp. People tend to think of others as either emotional or intelligent, but not both. So, just what is emotional intelligence?
Emotional intelligence has a lot to do with being intelligent about your emotions. It involves the ability to recognize your own emotions as well as the emotions of other people. It includes understanding emotions. It also has to do with how you manage your emotions and how you manage other peoples emotions.
This book provides you with the basic information on how to improve your emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is still a new area of study, and you can already find a combination of folklore and science mixed together through the initial exuberance of the media on this topic. I cover some of the science that explains emotional intelligence, but I go carefully beyond the science by expanding on some of those scientific findings. If youre looking to become a more emotionally intelligent person, then Improving Your Emotional Intelligence In A Day For Dummies is for you. Reading this book can help you take the first step toward improving your EQ (Emotional Quotient).
What You Can Do In A Day
The goal of Improving Your Emotional Intelligence In A Day For Dummies is to help you understand what it means to be emotionally intelligent and then teach you how to achieve it. I begin by walking you through how to assess your emotional intelligence and how to measure it. Next, I show you strategies for managing your emotions and how to manage other peoples emotions. Finally, I explain the concept of empathy and why its important to improving your emotional intelligence.
You can read this book from start to finish, or you can take a look at the table of contents and decide where youd like to go first. Theres no wrong way to read this book. How you use this book is up to you.
Foolish Assumptions
Heres what Im assuming about you: I assume that youre a pretty well-adjusted human being who wants to improve yourself and possibly some of the people around you.
Icons Used in This Book
A unique and incredibly useful feature of all For Dummies books is the inclusion of helpful icons that point you in the direction of valuable information, tips, and tricks:
This icon points out helpful information thats likely to benefit your emotional intelligence.
The Remember icon marks a fact thats interesting and useful something that you might want to remember for later use.
This icon highlights a danger, telling you to pay attention and proceed with caution.
This icon indicates technical information, sometimes referred to as psychobabble. I try not to use too much of this language, but for purposes of accuracy, I sometimes need to. You can skip the sections marked with the Technical Stuff icon, although you may find them interesting.
Take a break from the text for a quick exercise designed to help you get a better grasp of emotional intelligence.
When you see this icon, head to this books companion website at www.dummies.com/inaday/improvingemotionalintelligence