Stop Talking More And Communicating Less: Emotional Intelligence For Leaders

BusinessStop Talking More And Communicating Less: Emotional Intelligence For LeadersByKaren R. McDaniel, PhD,Forbes Books Author.for Forbes BooksAUTHOR POSTExpertise and opinions of authors published by ForbesBooks. Imprint operated under license. | Paid ProgramJun 01, 2026, 11:55am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Effective communication isn't just about what you say, but how you say it.gettyEffective communication isn’t just about what you say. It’s about how you say it, where you say it, and whether you’re truly listening. The tricky thing is that people are all so fundamentally different. What seems like an effective or normal communication pattern to one person might not be interpreted as such by another. This is where emotional intelligence for leaders can make a big difference.What Happens When We Don’t Recognize Different Communication StylesFrom boardrooms to international classrooms, I have seen how misunderstandings surrounding behavioral styles impede communication again and again. I’ve also experienced it firsthand in my own career. I went into a colleague’s office with a sheet of paper outlining three clear points and got right to it: “Here’s point A, B, and C,” with clear action items for each one. When we didn’t get anything done, I left feeling confused: I had come in prepared and ready to make decisions. Why hadn’t we moved forward?Upon reflecting, I realized we had opposite behavioral styles. He was steady and relational and needed to slow things down. In our follow-up meeting, I had the same sheet of paper, but I slowed down, taking time to ask about items in his bookcase, his weekend, and so on. Then, I got to my three points, but this time I kept my suggestions open-ended: “How do you think we should handle this?” The meeting took twice as long, but it was time well spent, because we made progress. We became a dynamic team, complementing each other’s s...