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The Value of Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace

4/24/2022

Having high emotional intelligence is very beneficial in every aspect of life. Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand your emotions in a positive way in order to enhance your connections with others and feel empathy. Emotional intelligence is an interesting topic because it is so important yet oftentimes overlooked in settings such as the workplace since most people focus on the left-brained information side of work. People get so focused on the actual content of their projects and daily tasks and forget that they need to also grow their relationships with those around them. Because of how overlooked the value of emotional intelligence often is, I explored some ways in which it can be beneficial in the workplace.

I talked to UBWA alumni Madison Shimborske, a strategy analyst for River Financial to see how she values and incorporates emotional intelligence into her job. For her job as an analyst, Madison works part-time in client services and part-time doing product and project work as well as process improvement. Madison explains that River Financial is a start-up company that fosters a very fast-paced environment. “In a fast-paced start-up environment, it is essential to be able to read your coworkers’ emotions and adjust your approach accordingly to be able to reach the best solutions and avoid any potential burnout.” For Madison, it is essential to have high emotional intelligence in her job because of the collaboration with her co-workers and the atmosphere of the smaller start-up that she works for. She also suggests that “there tend to be a lot more emotions involved than I have seen at past, larger companies.” The people that Madison works with are “very passionate about [their] business, so emotion runs high in that environment.

Emotional intelligence becomes a necessity in the workplace when one values making connections with their co-workers and having seamless collaboration with team members. As Madison puts it, “I’ve seen how crucial it is while working in a start-up environment where your coworkers also happen to be your friends.” Emotional intelligence is important for networking and forming relationships. It is necessary for high-pressure situations in your job where people feel many different emotions and need to figure out how to control them.

Similarly, it allows you to take criticism easier and understand that it is coming from a desire to help you grow as opposed to a way to put you down. It is also important in leadership roles because others look up to you and depend on you to guide them. Madison shares that “you realize the true importance of emotional intelligence once you experience a manager or leader who embodies emotional intelligence.”

Aside from the workplace, emotional intelligence is just an important trait to have. Having empathy for others and the ability to understand peoples’ situations is very valuable. Madison points out how important it is to be able to create a safe environment for others and to make people feel seen. Without emotional intelligence, people would have a hard time getting along and forming genuine friendships or relationships. Understanding those we work with is crucial to having success in your place of work.

Erin Litzer

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Public Speaking and How to Distinguish Yourself

4/10/2022

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Your business professor tells you that you have an individual presentation assignment to do by next week. It entails you standing in front of your class, speaking and engaging with everyone, for 12-15 minutes. Oh, and let’s say your class is 100 people. What do you do? I don’t know about you, but I’d definitely panic.
It may seem like everyone else is a natural public speaker, and that they don’t get nervous at all, but that is the furthest thing from the truth. Whether it is in front of 10 people or 100 people, everyone gets afraid to speak publicly, and it is a completely rational fear. The key, however, is to continue practicing with presenting, and fake it until you make it.

For advice on how to speak like a professional, I recently interviewed Madi Noel, an Ohio State alumni. Madi graduated two years ago and now works at a company called Western Digital, which is a large data technology company. As a marketing major during her time here at Ohio State, Madi jumped into the world of public speaking early on. In marketing, you have to know how to strategically speak to a group of people in order to represent your product and persuade them to buy it. However, having to learn these skills throughout her career at Ohio State was a critical step to becoming prepared to work in the real world.

When I interviewed Madi, the first thing I asked her, to no surprise, was if she enjoys speaking publicly. Although she replied that she “used to not be a huge fan,” she added that she now has a different perspective. After doing it so frequently, it gets easier and easier to get the hang of, and you learn to appreciate yourself for doing it. She added that “it’s a great way to show knowledge about something and feel confident about yourself,” which could not be more true. After you finish presenting, you feel relieved and powerful, like you can take on anything else that comes your way, and I think most people can relate to this feeling.

To dive deeper into this topic of public speaking, I asked Madi how, once you have the basics down, to take your presentation one step further and really make it stand out in comparison to others who may be presenting on similar topics. First, she mentioned that visuals, which can include graphs, photos, videos, and anything else that will catch the eye of the audience, are key when presenting. Another helpful tip is that you should not just have paragraphs of text listed on the screen. Instead, include a few important words, and leave the rest to explain to the audience, making sure to pause and engage with the audience while presenting. Even small actions like polling the audience or asking them to vote can help make the presentation more interesting and seem less like a boring lecture, especially if you can tell that the audience seems unintrigued.

Lastly, Madi left me with a few pieces of advice that I’d like to share in hopes of making you feel better about your next presentation. Even though presenting in front of people can be nerve wracking, “practice is key.” In addition, she noted that by doing research and really becoming an expert on what you’re presenting, you will instantly “feel more confident,” because you’re sharing your knowledge in whatever it is that you are speaking about. She concluded with “You’re the expert, and that’s the leverage you have in a presentation.” So, next time you have a presentation and begin to worry, take these notes into consideration, and I guarantee you will feel much less stressed.

Cassie Kobel

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