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Susanne Schmaling,
director of education for
Associated Skin Care
Professionals, is a licensed
esthetician, experienced
educator, former spa
owner, founder of the
Pacific Institute of Esthetics, author of A
Comprehensive Guide to Equipment
(Milady, 2009) and Aging Skin (Milady,
2011), and contributor to Standard
Makeup (Milady, 2013). Contact her
at sschmaling@ascpskincare.com.
• Empathy: Understanding where our
clients are coming from, how they are
feeling, and what they need is one of
the most important skills an esthetician
can have. It is a skill set that we as a
profession generally excel at, but there
is always room for improvement. If you
aren't empathetic, you won't last long as
an esthetician.
• Social Skills: Obviously important for
client relationships, your ability to work
well in a team environment is also vital
if you have coworkers. Even if you are a
solo practitioner, you need social support
and interaction. This is one area that is
a challenge for many people, and offers
a lot of opportunity for growth. Poor
social skills can cause you and your
clients undue stress.
• Motivation: If you are self-employed,
your motivation to succeed must be
high. If you're working for someone,
your motivation will make the difference
between mediocre performance and
standing out as a master esthetician.
How to Improve Your EQ
First, determine your strengths and
weaknesses. This can be a challenging
exercise, but is well worth it. Most of us
have a general idea when some parts of
our behavior aren't working, and, let's face
it: we're human.
The second step is setting a realistic
goal for working on the areas you have
determined need improvement. A vast
array of EI resources is available on the
Internet, as this subject is quite popular
in education and in the business world
(some companies even hire based on
candidates' EQ scores). Try the following
tools to get started.
• Determine your EQ level: http://
psychology.about.com/library/quiz/
bl_eq_quiz.htm
• Identify what areas to work on: www.
proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.
php?title=how-selfaware-are-you
• Learn how well you read other people:
http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/ei_quiz
• Create your learning plan: www.
mindtools.com/pages/article/
newCDV_59.htm
The third step is to practice, practice,
and practice some more. Realize and
accept that you will likely slide back to
your old behavior now and then—when
that happens, simply get back on track as
soon as you can. You will find that change
comes in subtle ways, and it will not
happen overnight. But keep at it, and you
will eventually find increased satisfaction
in many areas of your professional and
personal life.
Notes
1. Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence: Why It
Can Matter More Than IQ (London: Bloomsbury
Publishing, 1996).
Hands-On Skills:
Read this article online at
www.ascpskindeepdigital.com
for a video lesson on
a comfortable deep-
cleansing technique.