 Emotional intelligence, also known as EI or EQ, is the brain's ability to see feelings coming and then to use them, listen to what they've got to say and manage them effectively. People with lots of EI recognize their own emotions and can identify them in others. This allows them to discern between different feelings, adjust their inner states and communicate better. Perhaps the most relevant model of emotional intelligence was developed by the psychologists John Mayer and Peter Salovey, who defined it in 1990 as the sum of four skills, perceiving, using, understanding and managing emotions. Perceiving emotions is our ability to detect them in faces, pitches and voices, including in ourselves. It's the foundation of emotional intelligence and makes all other processing of sentimental information possible. Using emotions is the ability to align our hearts with our heads. People who are emotionally intelligent can perceive their changing moods and as a result may change what they do to channel their feelings effectively. Understanding emotions is our ability to comprehend the complex relationships between feelings. It involves recognizing and describing how moods evolve and change over time. Understanding emotions is the ability to regulate feelings in ourselves and in others. People who are good at that can control their sentiments, manage their moods and are able to influence the emotions of others. While some people seem to be naturally gifted with all four abilities, others have to work hard on every single one of them. The good news is, most of us can improve our EI through mindfulness, exercises, therapy and education and it seems it's worth the effort. Higher emotional intelligence often correlates with higher academic and professional success. This is because our emotions and the way we manage them impact directly on our brain's ability to listen and learn. As Peter Salovey concluded, people in good moods are better at inductive reasoning and creative problem solving. So what do you think? Is emotional intelligence something we can and should try to teach in schools? And if so, how? Tell us your thoughts and experiences of improving your own EI in the comments below.