VOA

This is a given. Having emotionally intelligent employees will help any organization dive into the great divide of providing a spectacular customer experience, at any given point in time. Are you aware that 90% of top performers in various businesses have ‘Emotional Intelligence’ in common? Their levels of self-awareness and self-management get them ahead and may even outrank their colleagues who have elevated levels of IQ – because IQ is simply not enough – when trying to satisfy your end customers. Now you must wonder what ‘Emotional Intelligence’ really is. It is simply the ability for an individual to recognize their own emotion alongside other people’s emotions, distinguish between different feelings and label them correctly, use emotional information to guide their thinking and behavior, and manage and/or adjust emotions to adapt to environments or achieve their goals. In the business world, high EQ levels in leaders will certainly foster stronger emotional connections with employees. But, do keep in mind that it’s also important to encourage your employees to utilize an EQ approach in their day-to-day responsibilities, especially, in terms of nurturing meaningful customer experiences to increase brand loyalty and to increase your customer base – because you can never get enough of an increasing, loyal army of followers. Emotional Intelligence is for Everyone EQ is for everyone – starting from your front-line managers to your front-line executives. There is no difference there. If you look at your front-line customer executives, they have to deal with various customers who are indifferent, hostile and simply difficult and it can be a nightmare for them. And its obvious that situations of this nature can wear out these executives down, reduce a positive attitude towards their work and result in low levels of employee engagement. You wouldn’t want that, now would you? When you provide a […]

For years, people have struggled to define and categorize emotions. Emotions are illusive, ever-changing and completely intangible. To solve the mystery, scientists have begun to study emotions, and it has raised some interesting discoveries. Here are 5 interesting facts about the science behind emotions: 1. You can actually see emotions Well, in a sense. Studies have shown that people across different cultures and other demographics “feel” emotions in the same way. A recent study asked participants to map out where on their bodies they felt emotions. For example, anger activated people’s arms and chest, whereas depression added weight people’s legs. The participants’ maps were shockingly similar. Interested in this study? The researchers have put it online for you to take part in here. The map of participants’ emotions. There was nearly complete overlap. 2. There are really only four emotions Building on Robert Plutchik’s famous Wheel of Emotions, recent studies have reduced the emotional spectrum to four “umbrella” emotions: happy, sad, angry/disgusted, and afraid/surprised. Similar to Plutchik’s wheel, which has all emotions building on eight base emotions, this new theory says that we only have four biological responses to stimulants. These responses trigger facial expressions, changes in pulse, and bodily reactions in only four different ways. The wide range of emotions that we know and have experienced is just an evolution of one of the basic emotions. Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions 3. Stomach butterflies exist (sort of) We’ve all had that feeling. Nervous for a presentation or excited for a date. Our stomach flutters in a feeling that can only be described as “butterflies.” Obviously there are no butterflies flapping inside of our stomachs, but emotions like excitement or nervousness actually does trigger a physical sensation in our stomachs. The “fluttering” feeling actually is the sudden loss of blood flow in your stomach as your body races to release […]