I admit it’s a terrible habit – again sitting in a restaurant listening to the next table… but the guy was so loud I could hardly not! Three people, “Joe” and 2 friends, Joe says he’s so glad to see them again and launches into a story. Eventually says, “but I don’t want us to just talk about my stories…” and the proceeds to dominate the conversation for half an hour of virtually nonstop monologue. Every once in a while the others manage to slip in a word but Joe grabs back the conversation. It seems like Joe KNOWS he dominates and has at least a vague intention of sharing the stage, but doesn’t.
So: Is Joe self-aware?
And, if he is, what’s missing?
Sometimes people talk about emotional intelligence as “paying attention to feelings,” which is nice but inadequate. Maybe even useless. We do need to ACCURATELY identify and understand feelings, but I contend that to be “intelligent” we also need to use that data effectively. When we use mathematical intelligence we accurately identify the info and use it to come up with answers that solve problems. How about when we use EQ?
(And, how about my admission of my terrible habit?)
♥