Emotional intelligence (EI) refers to the ability to recognize, understand, and control one’s emotions to improve relationships with others and succeed in different environments.
Online learners who have a high EI level are better able to analyze situations so they can make more informed decisions. A higher level of EI also means being able to interact with others and manage their emotions effectively in response to challenges.
Here are three ways that emotional intelligence benefits online learners and helps them become better learners.
Emotional Intelligences Makes You More Persuasive
Emotional intelligence and persuasion are connected in many ways. The more you know what makes people tick, the easier it will be for you to persuade them of your point of view. Therefore, people with high emotional intelligence skills often have an advantage in academic and professional negotiations.
If you’re looking to become a better persuader in college, start by improving your emotional intelligence. It won’t be long before everyone around you begins noticing how much more convincing you’ve become.
Emotional Intelligence and Decision-Making
Understanding your emotions helps you make better decisions because you can look at situations from a broader perspective. It’s easier to understand other people and their motivations when you are aware of how they may be feeling.
Knowing why people do what they do will enable you to predict their actions and reactions. This also allows you to make better decisions in difficult situations, whether professional or personal. After all, how could you possibly make good choices if you don’t have insight into what might lead up to those choices?
When we pay attention to our mood and emotional response to stimuli, we gain an awareness of ourselves that allows us to empathize with others. This awareness helps us consider the needs of others so we can work together to achieve common goals. In addition, identifying one’s emotional state also plays a role in finding ways to regulate it so that negative responses aren’t triggered or remain controlled under pressure.
Self-awareness
Self-awareness is one of the most important dimensions of emotional intelligence. It involves understanding your feelings, motivations, and emotions, as well as those of others. Essentially, it means seeing things from a variety of perspectives and recognizing which actions are appropriate in any given situation.
Furthermore, it means recognizing what might drive you to do things that may not be beneficial. Self-awareness helps people remain calm under pressure and to cope with stressful situations more effectively. Also, when working with teams or leading projects, self-awareness helps leaders understand their team’s needs and concerns.
Putting the Skills into Practice
Emotional intelligence is often considered separate from academic success; however, a student who can cope with emotional challenges is more likely to succeed academically than someone who lacks this skill.
Strong emotional intelligence is critical in everyday decision-making and planning. A student with a high level of emotional intelligence knows how to set realistic goals and how to attain them. They also understand how their decisions affect their future.
Respond Instead of Reacting
One of our greatest tools in life is being able to respond effectively to conflict and not only react to it. There is a difference between reacting and responding.
When we react, we choose not to act on a situation and instead take a passive stand, which will leave us feeling sad or angry about something out of our control. Taking hasty actions also risks damaging our relationships by failing to consider the impact of our reactions on others.
On the other hand, responding means that we have influence over a situation. We can decide how we want to act going forward.
We can all make the wrong decisions if we don’t strive to see the bigger picture. One reason a student may not be able to solve a problem is that they are only looking at it from one perspective.
When faced with a difficult situation, consider your options. Taking a step back will save you from making rash decisions. It’s easy to get upset over a low grade or difficult homework, but sometimes, taking time to breathe and seeing things from another angle can put things into perspective.
You’ll realize that there are many other opportunities. One bad day doesn’t mean you’re in trouble. Instead of making rushed decisions, take time to reflect on how you can move forward positively.
Conclusion
Emotional intelligence is an essential factor in successfully learning. People with high emotional intelligence have a strong sense of self-awareness and a healthy level of trust towards others. Thus, they can better understand where others are coming from and how their actions can positively or negatively affect others.
As you go through your course, think about how your EI levels affect your learning strategies, attitude toward feedback, and ability to receive constructive criticism.
Understanding your emotions during your online study experience will help you analyze situations more effectively so you can make better decisions while learning and even when you’re out in the real world.