ness in the moment, look for evidence of both restraint in escalating
conflict and also examples of having the courage to speak up when ap-
propriate. Both factors contribute to successful interactions.
Competency 4: Planning the Tone of Conversations
In addition to being aware in the moment, emotionally intelligent
people take this skill a step further by planning the tone of their con-
versations so that they achieve the best results. To preplan a conver-
sation or tone of a conversation, a person must anticipate reactions,
impact, and outcomes. For example, the physician who curtly an-
nounces that you have less than six months to live and then walks ...