You’ve likely heard the terms emotional awareness and emotional intelligence, and you might think they are essentially interchangeable. Another word for awareness is knowledge, and if you’re knowledgeable about something, that makes you intelligent in that area, right?
Not quite. While emotional intelligence requires emotional awareness, awareness is only one part of the EQ equation. In this article, we’ll look at the definition of emotional awareness, how it is different from emotional intelligence, how it contributes to overall emotional intelligence, and how to increase it.
What is Emotional Awareness?
Before we get into the difference between emotional awareness and emotional intelligence, we need to define our terms. We’ll start with an emotional awareness definition.
Emotional awareness is the ability to recognize and describe your own emotions and the emotions of others. In 1987, researchers Gary Schwartz and Richard Lane developed the LEAS scale, which measures five levels of emotional awareness:
- Awareness of only physical or bodily sensations associated with emotion
- Awareness of action tendencies in the body, such as approach or avoidance, self-injury, etc.
- Ability to recognize and name single emotions only
- Ability to recognize and name blends of emotions and capacity to distinguish those feelings
- Awareness of blends of emotional experience in yourself as well as in others
Unlike other cognitive skills, the levels of emotional awareness are not thought to develop sequentially, but can be fluid over time. However, awareness typically begins internally as you start to conceptualize your emotions as they happen. TalentSmartEQ’s 2025 State of EQ Report found that as professionals improved awareness and understanding of their own emotional patterns, they were better equipped to recognize and interpret emotions in others. So, in a sense, awareness of your own emotions lays the foundation for awareness of others’ emotions.
Emotional Awareness vs. Emotional Intelligence: Connected, But Not the Same
So, what’s the difference between emotional awareness and emotional intelligence? Emotional intelligence starts with awareness, but it doesn’t stop there. Emotional intelligence is defined as the ability to recognize and understand emotions in yourself and in others, coupled with the ability to use this awareness to manage your own behavior and your relationships with others.
In TalentSmartEQ’s framework for emotional intelligence, emotional awareness is broken down into self-awareness and social awareness. They fall under the column “what I see” in the chart below.
Self-awareness is the ability to understand what you are feeling, why you’re feeling it, and how it affects your behavior. Social awareness is the ability to perceive and understand the emotions of others, usually by picking up on body language, tone of voice, and other emotional cues.
Awareness, while essential, is incomplete without the skills needed to manage emotions and the relationships affected by them. This is where the other half of the EQ equation, the “what I do” column above, comes in. You might call this side of the equation emotional management. It is made up of self-management and relationship management.
Self-management builds on self-awareness to regulate your emotions and direct your behavior in a positive, productive way, even in high-pressure situations. Relationship management uses self-awareness and social awareness to successfully manage interpersonal interactions and relationships.
Only once all four of these components are working together do you have emotional intelligence.
Emotional Awareness vs. Emotional Intelligence in Action
While emotional awareness is an important skill, you won’t reap its full benefits until you incorporate it into the larger equation of emotional intelligence. If you can recognize that you’re angry but can’t manage that anger in a healthy and productive way, what good does that emotional awareness recognition do? Awareness of the emotions you’re feeling will only benefit you if you are able to use that awareness to accurately assess the situation and manage your behaviors accordingly.
On the other side of the coin, if you can use emotional intelligence to perceive a coworker’s frustration at what you’re saying but can’t adjust your approach to alleviate that frustration, how does your perception benefit you? Unless you can use your awareness to shift your approach to your coworker, simply knowing that they are frustrated will do little to ameliorate the situation.
Why is Emotional Awareness Important?
The benefits of emotional awareness aren’t just anecdotal. Research shows that it is an essential skill for employees and leaders as well as teams and organizations as a whole.
According to a paper in the Journal of Intelligence, emotional awareness enhances emotional self-regulation, enjoyment of relationships, and physical and mental health. It is also particularly helpful for navigating complex social situations such as work environments, where emotions might not be discussed openly but still undergird every interaction. So, while technical skills and intellect are important, soft skills like emotional awareness shouldn’t be underestimated as key drivers of success.
A study in the journal Science found that social sensitivity, essentially another word for emotional awareness, is the X factor in predicting a group’s performance on a variety of tasks. This collective intelligence factor, as the study calls it, is based not on the average or highest individual IQ of group members, but rather on the average social sensitivity of the group as a whole. Specifically, the collective ability to read others’ faces and interpret their emotions accordingly had a significant positive impact on group performance. The takeaway? Successful teams need emotionally aware members.
How to Increase Emotional Awareness
Here are some tangible strategies for increasing emotional awareness, whether you’re focused solely on awareness or are using it to build a solid foundation for overall emotional intelligence.
How to increase emotional self-awareness:
- Recognize all emotions as neutral, not good or bad
- Observe the effects of your emotions
- Lean into the discomfort of emotions
- Allow yourself to physically feel your emotions
- Observe your emotions and what triggers them
- Journal about your emotions
- Investigate why you react the way you do in various situations
- Notice how your emotions and moods are perceived by others
- Ask others for feedback about your emotions and reactions
- Learn how you respond to stress
How to increase emotional social awareness:
- Greet people by name
- Observe people’s body language to gauge their emotions
- Wait for the right time to say things
- Stop taking notes in meetings so you can pay attention to people
- Plan ahead for social gatherings and how you will interact with people
- Quiet your thoughts so you can truly listen to others
- Practice living in the moment and being present
- Give your full attention to others when you are listening to them
- Go people watching to observe subtle signals and interactions
- Learn the rules of the culture you are in
- Ask people if what you notice about them is true
- Try to see things from others’ perspectives
- Read the room to catch the general mood
If these lists are overwhelming, start by focusing on one or two, gradually adding more as you gain confidence in your skills. Over time, these skills will add up to an increased overall emotional awareness, which will benefit you in the workplace and beyond.
Emotional Awareness in the EQ Equation
At TalentSmartEQ, we value emotional awareness not as a standalone skill, but as an essential aspect of emotional intelligence, which is an essential skill in any workplace. As you begin to practice awareness, you’ll recognize the need for management skills to act on that awareness. Fortunately, all aspects of emotional intelligence are highly adaptable, and TalentSmartEQ has all the tools you and your organization need to master them.
As the premier provider of EQ training and certification, we offer a range of EQ solutions, trainer certification programs, coaching, and other resources to help your organization harness the power of emotional awareness as a foundational aspect of emotional intelligence. Contact us to find out how we can bring success to your organization.
FAQs
- What is the definition of emotional awareness?
- Emotional awareness is defined as the ability to recognize and describe your emotions and the emotions of others.
- What is the difference between emotional awareness and emotional intelligence?
- Emotional awareness is simply the ability to recognize and describe emotions in yourself and others, while emotional intelligence uses this awareness to positively manage your behavior as well as your relationships with others. Emotional awareness is a foundational aspect of the EQ equation, but it must lead to proper management of these emotions and their effects on relationships.
- How do you increase emotional awareness?
- Emotional awareness can be increased simply by learning to pay attention to emotions in yourself and in others. Treat all emotions as neutral, investigate where they come from (journaling is a great way to do this), observe the effects of emotions, lean into the discomfort of feeling emotions and experiencing the emotions of others. Allow yourself to physically feel your emotions, and learn to notice body language in others that can cue you in to their emotional state. In short, pay attention to your internal state, and look for the signs in others that point to their emotional state.
- Why is emotional awareness important in the workplace?
- Emotional awareness allows you to navigate complex social situations at work where emotions aren’t necessarily expressed but still play a large role in how people interact. Emotional awareness leads to healthier relationships, and it can even enhance team performance and productivity.