Talking about emotional intelligence is very much in fashion, but how much does EQ affect our happiness? How much does it affect our success? How does it relate to the impact of our IQ? Some rising stars from the community opine below.

Lyndell Werling | Wardrobe Stylist

While success and happiness are uniquely and personally defined, emotional intelligence profoundly impacts both. Emotional intelligence (EQ) skills empower one to deeply connect with others, establish rapport, build relationships, and truly love other human beings. EQ emanates from our greatest leaders, artists, teachers, healers, and religious figures. It requires an understanding of human nature and the ability to effectively communicate. Our current environment provides a significant reminder of emotional intelligence’s criticality. Life never stops presenting growth opportunities, obstacles to overcome on the path to success, and experiences that yield happiness. It takes a EQ and IQ to pursue our passions and dreams. Read more>>

Giovannie Espiritu | Actress, Filmmaker & Top 40 Acting Coach for Kids/Teens

Oh gosh… This may be a long-winded answer, but my job as an acting coach and actor myself is to control and manipulate my own emotions as well as listen and respond to the emotions of others… and go past what they are saying and they to figure out the heart and the subtext of the matter at hand. In real life, I don’t like drama. Like at all. I had a really complicated and rough childhood (which gives me a lot to draw from as an actor), but in my real, day-to-day life, I keep the drama to a minimum. But in my professional life, my job is to raise the stakes and the conflict… so I learned how to reverse engineer the scene work in order to keep my real-life drama free. I found that if I can understand the what the other person wants first, I can usually come to a solution that makes sense for the both of us… in scene work, what my character wants is to usually change the person or have them see things from my point of view. Read more>>