Emotional intelligence is a crucial part of the negotiation process. This is because emotions play a truly fundamental role in seeking resolution of a dispute. Conflicts of interest, in most cases, have an emotional side. These emotions are often misunderstood and inadequately addressed. Although it seems that taking emotions into account is a risk in case of conflict of interest, the opposite is true. Engaging the emotions of the parties involved helps the negotiator arrive at a solution by understanding their perspectives and, most likely, what they are really looking forward to getting out of the negotiation. Since it is virtually impossible to separate people from their emotions, it is critically important to incorporate these emotions into negotiations and use them to improve outcomes. An individual with higher emotional intelligence is, therefore, in a much better position to find an appropriate solution by controlling and managing the emotions involved. Ignoring feelings in a conflict situation, therefore, seems like a very wrong approach to successful negotiation[footnoteRef:4] (Kelly and Kaminskiene 2016). [4: Edward J. Kelly; Natalija Kaminskiene (2016). Importance of emotional intelligence in negotiation and mediation, International Comparative Jurisprudence, 2(1), pp. 55-60. ]Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay To begin with, according to studies conducted, higher emotional intelligence has been attributed to better leadership skills and job performance; which translates into better negotiation skills. A higher emotional quotient (EQ) allows one to manipulate their own emotions and those of others, which undoubtedly places them in a far better position when it comes to negotiating. Those who have a stronger foothold on their emotions are able to direct the subject's emotions in a direction that ultimately favors their side in the negotiations, or convince the subjects/parties to reach an agreement, depending on which they were their terms. Contrary to popular belief, taking emotions into consideration complicates the conflict less and does not lead to uncontrollable behavior on the part of the disputants. Individuals who are unable to deal with their emotional problems may not be successful in negotiation and mediation[footnoteRef:5] (Schreier 2002). However, this is only true when the emotions at play are correctly identified. [5: L. Schreier. Emotional intelligence and mediation training. Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 20 (1) (2002), pp. 99-119.] On the other hand, emotions can have a negative effect if manipulated maliciously. This can lead to diverting attention from the important issues at hand, being unable to think unhindered, or placing themselves in a position where they can be manipulated[footnoteRef:6] (D. Shapiro 2005). Negative emotion such as disgust, fear, and anger reduce the parties' desire to work together and often lead to win-lose bargaining scenarios and present very little chance of joint gain situations [footnoteRef:7] (Shapiro 2009). Emotional intelligence and its development are therefore fundamental. [6: D. Shapiro, R. Fisher. Beyond Reason: Using Emotions During Negotiation, Penguin Books, New York (2005).] [7: D. Shapiro. Untapped power: emotions in negotiation. Negotiation: readings, exercises and cases, McGraw-Hill, New York (2009), pp. 139-146.]The role played by emotional intelligence in negotiation cannot be ignored, along with cognition and decision making. However, few have been conducted.