Which Type of Emotional Intelligence Do You Have?

Your jaw was tight for ten minutes before you noticed you were angry, and by then the email was already sent.

Is emotional intelligence one skill or several?

Several. The writer Daniel Goleman made the idea popular in the 1990s. He split it into parts, such as knowing your own feelings, managing them, reading other people and handling relationships. Most of us are stronger in one part than the rest, and this quiz looks for yours. It asks about criticism, praise and someone else's bad mood, because those are quick moments where you react before you can plan.

Why do I always know what I feel, but not what to do with it?

That sounds like Self-Awareness. You can say "I'm not sad, I'm embarrassed" and be right. You can trace a bad mood back to one comment at lunch. Knowing is the first step, though, and the next one, doing something calm with the feeling, can seem like a separate job.

Why do people say I'm so calm when things go wrong?

You may lead with Self-Regulation. You feel the spike like anyone else, but you count to three, put the phone face down and answer tomorrow. People trust you in tense meetings, since you rarely say the thing you would regret. Some friends may not guess how much you are holding in.

Why am I worn out after someone else's bad day?

If you soak up moods, you likely lean toward Empathy. You can tell a friend is upset from the way they type "ok". You pick up the feeling of a room within a minute of walking in. A sad film can stay with you for a whole evening. That makes you a great support, and it also means you need time alone to put other people's feelings down.

What if I'm the one who smooths things over?

Then Social Skill may be your strong side. You know when to crack a joke, when to change the subject and how to bring the quiet person into the talk. At parties you are the one introducing two people who will get on. In a group you act like a translator between people who do not quite get each other. You use the other parts at once, mostly without thinking about it.

Something to notice this week: the next time someone praises you, watch your first move. Do you name the feeling, keep a straight face, study their face, or turn it into a warm moment for both of you? That small reaction often matches your result.

Whatever you get, it is something to smile at and think over, not a clinical label.

The questions below take a few minutes, and they point to the part of emotional intelligence you lean on most.