 Intelligence is multifaceted. While we tend to think about smart people as those who are studious and have perfect grades, it turns out there's a lot more to it than that. Intelligence can range from your ability to create music, play sports, to how you understand yourself, and much more. An important type of intelligence in particular is social. Knowing how to work effectively with others while managing and communicating your feelings is extremely important. But how can you tell if you're skilled in this area? In this video, we will be looking at some signs of high social intelligence. What is social intelligence? Psychologist Dr. Sandeep Atra, an expert on social intelligence, describes it as the ability to observe and interpret people's emotions and nonverbals in communication. This means you're able to understand what people are feeling and trying to say, which allows you to communicate effectively with them. He states that this leads to greater interpersonal effectiveness and self-management. So now that we know how social intelligence is defined, let's look at how we can identify it. High and emotional intelligence. As we mentioned earlier, intelligence comes in several different forms. One form is your emotional intelligence, known as EQ, and it is defined by health line as the ability to use your emotions constructively. This has to do with your capacity to empathize with others, manage your feelings, and healthily express your emotions. As you know, social intelligence deals with the ability to interpret social situations and act wisely in them. So having a high level of EQ will definitely come in handy. Psychotherapist Amy Moran explains that high EQ influences your ability to act in social situations, especially when strong feelings are involved. Fortunately, emotional intelligence is highly malleable, meaning that even if you have a low EQ, there are ways for you to improve it. For example, according to Very Well Mind, you can improve EQ by taking time to practice listening to others, empathizing with them, and reflecting on your interactions with them, understanding how others tick. Communication is complicated. There are so many unspoken rules that you can break without knowing, sometimes even without saying anything at all. People with high social intelligence are great at reading the room. They know what words to say and how to use them. Therapist Amy Moran states that people skilled in this area can seemingly hold a conversation with anyone. They're able to skillfully use humor when it's appropriate and make the people around them feel comfortable. They can recognize if a person needs more space or engage with someone that's highly talkative. If you have a high level of social intelligence, you may notice how you're able to read people and get the best out of them, even if they're not the most social beings in the room. People like talking to you. One of the biggest signs that you have high levels of social intelligence is that people enjoy socializing with you. Perhaps you're someone people can go to and not feel judged or drained by. Psychologist Dr. Sandeep Atra states that this is especially important when you're in a leadership position. After all, wouldn't you yourself wanna work under someone uplifting, understanding and reassuring? The people in your life will naturally find ways to be around you more when you make them feel good. Perhaps you see people for how they are versus categorizing them into stereotypes. Ultimately, people will pick up on how you treat them. So if you find that people are seeking you out, then you can feel confident in your ability to make people feel comfortable. Appreciating differences. Having high social intelligence allows you to appreciate other people's differences. With so many cultures and ways that people interact with others, you may realize that a one-size-fits-all approach will not work. It's important to meet people where they're at as everyone has different communication needs. Very well-mined explains how our experiences growing up give us a specific way of viewing the world that can be easy to project onto others. Socially intelligent people often understand this and will take the time to learn how to best communicate with different types of people. Organizational psychologist Dr. Ronald Regio states that people high in social intelligence are great at playing different roles. They can effectively adapt their communication strategy to other people to get them to feel comfortable. If you find yourself appreciative of other people and embracing their differences rather than running from them, then you may have high social intelligence. Active listening. We've all walked away from bad conversations before where you can tell that what you're saying is only going in one ear and out the other. But think about people you've talked with who genuinely listened to what you had to say. Weren't those much more pleasant? Dr. Ronald Regio explains that people high in social intelligence listen. Not just respond, but to understand the other person. This helps them forge a deeper connection as let's face it, it feels good to be heard. While not everyone may have this skill, it is something you can develop. Taking time to listen to others, process what they're saying and ask them questions is a great way to build up this ability and improve your social intelligence. Conflict management. Can you think of someone in your life that you always have to walk on eggshells around? Having high social intelligence makes it easier to navigate the minefield of people's emotions and engage in conflicts without snowballing into a bigger issue. Dr. Sandi Atra believes that people high in social intelligence consider multiple factors in a person's behavior. Someone who is angry isn't doing so just to be a jerk. But there are multiple factors at play that are happening behind the scenes that are making them act out. Similarly, having a strong ability to empathize and work social cues allows you to de-escalate a situation before it gets out of hand. How do you deal with stressful and awkward situations? Conflict is inevitable and impossible to avoid. However, the key is being able to manage a situation so things don't get hairy. Social intelligence is just one type of intelligence among a myriad of others. Like other forms of intelligence, it can be improved over time with practice. Sometimes it takes making some changes in the way you interact with others, while other ways may involve you working with a professional, in any case. Learning how to deal with people is a skill that can continuously be improved upon no matter who you are or where you're at. There's always something you can do to level up. Please share your thoughts on this topic in the comment section. What are some ways that you are socially intelligent? How can you improve your skills? Please like this video and share it with a friend. And don't forget to subscribe to Psych2Go to keep up with our uploads. Take care.