

Ironically, audience members were so moved by the speech that they claimed to recall more of it. In emerging research led by University of Cambridge professor Jochen Menges, when a leader gave an inspiring speech filled with emotion, the audience was less likely to scrutinize the message and remembered less of the content. Social scientists have begun to document this dark side of emotional intelligence. When you know what others are feeling, you can tug at their heartstrings and motivate them to act against their own best interests. When you’re good at controlling your own emotions, you can disguise your true feelings.

New evidence shows that when people hone their emotional skills, they become better at manipulating others. As a result, emotional intelligence is now taught widely in secondary schools, business schools, and medical schools.Įmotional intelligence is important, but the unbridled enthusiasm has obscured a dark side. If we can cultivate emotional intelligence among leaders and doctors, we’ll have more caring workplaces and more compassionate healthcare. If we can teach our children to manage emotions, the argument goes, we’ll have less bullying and more cooperation. Since the 1995 publication of Daniel Goleman’s bestseller, emotional intelligence has been touted by leaders, policymakers, and educators as the solution to a wide range of social problems. Practicing his hand gestures and analyzing images of his movements allowed him to become “an absolutely spellbinding public speaker,” says the historian Roger Moorhouse-“it was something he worked very hard on.” His name was Adolf Hitler. Recognizing the power of emotions, another one of the most influential leaders of the 20th century spent years studying the emotional effects of his body language. His tone of pained indignation matched that note for note.” Emotional intelligence is important, but the unbridled enthusiasm has obscured a dark side. As his speechwriter Clarence Jones reflected, King delivered “a perfectly balanced outcry of reason and emotion, of anger and hope. King demonstrated remarkable skill in managing his own emotions and in sparking emotions that moved his audience to action.

“Instead of honoring this sacred obligation” to liberty, King thundered, “America has given the Negro people a bad check.” He promised that a land “sweltering with the heat of oppression” could be “transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice,” and envisioned a future in which “on the red hills of Georgia sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.”ĭelivering this electrifying message required emotional intelligence-the ability to recognize, understand, and manage emotions. presented his dream, he chose language that would stir the hearts of his audience. Some of the greatest moments in human history were fueled by emotional intelligence.
