What Is Emotional Intelligence? Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify and manage your own emotions and the emotions of others. It is generally said to include three skills: 1. Emotional awareness, including the ability to identify your own emotions and those of others; 2. The ability to harness emotions and apply them to tasks like thinking and problems solving; 3. The ability to manage emotions, including the ability to regulate your own emotions, and the ability to cheer up or calm down another person.