How To Strenghten Your EQ

Growing our emotional intelligence is how as leaders, we can make our emotions work in our favor instead of against us. Over the years author, speaker and consultant Justin Bariso has taught many people how to improve in this area and has crafted a list of rules to illustrate his message. Consider implementing them into your work process.

The 3 question rule is a simple yet brilliant tool that can save us in countless scenarios. Before

saying anything ask yourself three things. 1. Does this need to be said? 2. Does this need to be said by me? 3. Does this need to be said by me, now? Considering the impact of our words before we use them positively benefits our interactions.

The rule of writing in reverse is a simple empathy strengthening exercise. It requires us to take on the role of our audience and think about the kind of text they would find enjoyable, helpful, or interesting to read. Brainstorming our copy from the perspective of the receiver prevents us from writing too much, being overly sentimental or abrupt, or offering unnecessary information.

The rule of first-things-first comes in handy when you find yourself overwhelmed by the millions of things you need to do. Narrowing your focus to just the first few things on your list reduces the vastness of your to-do list. It gets you moving forward, builds your momentum, increases your clarity, and renews your faith in your ability to get things done.

The rule of writing can be very beneficial as we look at how to increase our emotional intelligence and explain our new ways of thinking to others. Writing helps us clarify our thinking, improve our memory and increase our understanding, making it easier to communicate our thought processes to others. Writing it out is an EQ rule that can be used to strengthen all the other rules.