Dr. Travis Bradberry, the acclaimed author of Emotional Intelligence 2.0, returns with groundbreaking insights in his latest work, The New Emotional Intelligence. His highly anticipated audiobook promises to reshape our understanding of EQ and its application in today's world. In this Q&A, we discuss the compelling reasons behind this timely new book, revealing how small changes in emotional awareness can lead to significant improvements in various aspects of life, including annual income and relationship quality.

Rachael Xerri: It’s been more than 15 years since Emotional Intelligence 2.0 was first published. Why did you choose now to release a follow-up?

Travis Bradberry: Such a great question. It's amazing to have a book that's an evergreen bestseller, but at some point it becomes dated. As times change, so should your approach to increasing your EQ. Emotional intelligence is more important now than ever, and people need a modern approach to the topic. I've been accumulating 15 years of developments in neuroscience and psychology, 15 years of powerful new strategies that change lives, and I've created a powerful new way to measure emotional intelligence. It was finally time to bring this knowledge to the public.

Who should listen to The New Emotional Intelligence?

If you're looking to achieve more, better your relationships, and become a better human, emotional intelligence is the missing piece of the puzzle. With EQ twice as important as IQ in getting where you want to go in life, who can afford to ignore it?

What are some examples of new insights into emotional intelligence that you discovered while conducting research for this book?

First, for every point you increase your emotional intelligence, this leads to a $1,700 increase in annual income. EQ is a massive driver of personal and professional performance, and small changes have a big impact. Second, neuroscience shows us that we have more than 400 emotional reactions/experiences every single day, and making small adjustments in how you read and respond to these emotions has an outsized impact on your behavior. This is critical because the third finding is how few of us are able to accurately identify and understand our emotions as they happen. There's more awareness of emotional intelligence as a concept these days, but not necessarily more skill in using it. EQ is still something that most are lacking.

I saw that you’re also offering listeners an opportunity to take your personalized Emotional Intelligence Test when they download a copy of the audiobook. That’s exciting! What can listeners expect to learn about themselves when they take the test?

The Emotional Intelligence Test is an entirely new assessment and my first in more than 20 years. EQ self-assessments fall short in that they make it too easy to fake good. That is, people figure out how they should respond and can't resist making themselves look better than reality. This test is the first I've created that fixes that problem. The scores you get for overall EQ and each of the four skills (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management) are highly accurate. What's more, your score profile reveals what's holding you back the most and which of the 60 strategies from the book will address your needs directly and increase your EQ the most.

Is there a final message you’d like to share?

Increasing your emotional intelligence isn't as daunting as most people think. You just need a solution that's personalized to your needs and points you to the small changes you can make that will have an outsized impact on your behavior. Emotional intelligence is a foundational skill because emotions are the primary driver of our behavior. When you work solely on your EQ, you see changes happen in many important areas of your life that you weren't expecting. It's truly life-changing.