Connecting with Others: Relational Intelligence

Expressing relational intelligence is the magic of creating stronger bonds, building lasting relationships, and increasing empathy. Find out how to express it and get connected.

Have you ever been to a stadium to support your favorite team? Going initially to cheer on the team, but lo and behold, you find yourself in a place where the air is electric and there are thousands of fans all around you. Despite your best efforts to be classic, you can not help but join the crowd in chanting the same name or cheering the same team. In fact, you might not know them but you feel connected at this moment.

Lucky you at the end of the game you have a chat or even shared contact. You see that occurence is the magic of connection, one which at its core is relational intelligence. It's all about understanding people, building trust, and creating bonds that go beyond words. It’s a part of all humans that makes a team unstoppable, a friendship unbreakable, or even makes a fleeting moment with strangers unforgettable.

Onto the next, let's have a deep look at relational intelligence's meaning. Continue reading!

What is Relational Intelligence?

In a simple term, relational intelligence is the act of connecting with others and building trust. It is the ability to relate deeply to those around us, thereby strengthening our bond with them.

As social beings by nature, we all are relational creatures. Whether we think of relating to others as a skill or a gift, we must recognize that it is a mindset that speaks volumes about who we are. Starting from showing up for others to longing for attention, the act is a thread that binds us together.

Come to think of it, why do we think about the moment we feel connected to someone? Take, for instance, the long talk we had with a friend or the shared victory at work. The truth is relational intelligence is an important part of our existence that is based on a range of emotions.

Alternatively, we can say relational intelligence is the outward expression of our emotional intelligence. Thus, why don't we have a comparison of the two?

Relational Intelligence Vs. Emotional Intelligence

Whenever we're talking about the relationship between relational intelligence (RI) and emotional intelligence (EI), we must understand that these abilities are two completely different elements entirely. Although the two skills (RI&EI) have similar psychological concepts, the way of expressing both acts differs from each other completely.

First, emotional intelligence focuses on the ability to control one’s own emotions while understanding the emotions of other people. With it are distinct features including motivation, empathy, social skills, self-awareness, and self-regulation. Aside from being able to handle the feelings of others, it also helps us to use our mind-body information to achieve set goals.

Going deeper, understanding how to manage our EI with intelligent quotients is a great key to scaling through life. As a matter of fact, having this key can help us build good interpersonal relationships and also improve overall well-being. While EI can be so beneficial to us, being very high or low on emotional intelligence also comes with some challenges

Unlike EI which deals with emotional control, relational intelligence, on the other hand, is known as the ability to relate with these emotions. In the real sense, RI helps us to build interpersonal relationships that connect us with the world. Not only that, it also makes us know how to deal with others while creating mutual trust with them.

Although relational intelligence mainly deals with how we relate, it further proves to us how we handle our emotions. Most times, those who develop authentic RI while connecting with others mostly stand out among peers. People like this often understand how to stay connected even amidst day-to-day activities.

With a focus on the similarities, both EI and RI encourage an understanding of the ways human neurology affects our emotions and relationships. Both intelligence possesses the same skills which facilitate general awareness and management of ourselves and the society we live in. In fact, it's said that the growth and development of relational intelligence are made possible by strong emotional intelligence.

Quickly, let’s go through some of the benefits of authentic relational intelligence.

Why is Relation Intelligence Important?

As humans, connecting with people around us either at home or in our place of work has a great impact on both physical and mental growth. This art of staying connected offers many benefits including:

1. Identifying individual triggers: Almost every individual has a different trait that indicates something peculiar to them. In most cases, these intrinsic triggers bring out each and everyone's peculiarity. Hence, as we relate with them from time to time we tend to study them and also understand all these triggers.
2. Improving self-awareness: By expressing our relational intelligence with other people we get to be more aware about who we are and what makes us distinct. As we keep on relating, we get to see more things from our own perspective and in turn improve our knowledge.
3. Facilitate social awareness: Nowadays, it's advisable to be more aware of the various things that are happening around us. We never can tell if the situation someone is going through may be the solution for another. Thus, as we connect with others and provide listening skills, we tend to develop social mindfulness the most.
4. Enhance overall well-being: Connecting well with family, friends, neighbors, and even strangers helps feel alive and more mentally balanced. It also makes us build strong bonds and trust for a lasting relationship.
5. Promote lasting relationships: Being relational intelligence can help an individual build and keep relationships for a long period. With this ability, the person will be able to know more about others’ feelings, needs, and perspectives about life which will further strengthen the connection.

Furthermore, working with strong relational intelligence not only pertains to our way of engagement but to more creative collaboration that can also resolve conflict.

Wrapping Up

Getting to know people more or even initiating a conversation may be challenging at times, especially if the individual is a stranger. Hence, the fact that the quality of our relationship determines the quality of our life, doesn't mean you must relate with everybody. Not everyone will be family or close friends, but if you're having trouble connecting with others, psychology speakers can help.