Communication skills are vital to good emotional intelligence. You need to be able to listen to others, and convey your own thoughts and, perhaps more importantly, feelings.

Good communicators:

• Listen well to those around them, making sure that they understand what is said, and seek full and open sharing of information
• Are prepared to hear about problems, and don’t just want to be told about good news
• Deal with difficult issues straight away, and don’t allow problems to fester
• Register and act upon emotional cues in communicating, making sure that their message is appropriate