Expressing how we feel
Featured in the Using Emotional Intelligence at Work training manual
By Mike Bagshaw
Category: Emotional Intelligence
Credit price: 4 download credits (Single user)
The typical work environment doesn’t address feelings particularly well. It’s almost as if feelings aren’t important to the core purpose of the business. But everybody knows that feelings have a profound effect on the success or failure of a business enterprise. For example, expressing anger by blaming or humiliating can have an adverse effect on morale and performance. Conversely, expressing your genuine acknowledgement of someone’s efforts can have a profound impact on that person’s commitment. It’s important to express feelings, in a way that is business enhancing rather than business limiting. Good leaders are good communicators. They not only say what they mean clearly and briefly, but they inspire commitment by communicating with passion and telling stories that tap into people’s deeper feelings.
You start the training activity by asking three volunteers to read a short script that exemplifies the ‘drama triangle’ game. There follows a discussion of how certain ways of expressing our feelings can be damaging to collaboration and to personal fulfilment and growth. A presentation on expressing feelings positively is followed by an exercise on ‘I’ messages. You then lead a discussion on assertive advocacy, and participants complete a self-assessment checklist. They discuss how they might communicate more assertively, where previously they have been passive or hostile. After discussing the role of feedback, the final section comprises a self-presentation exercise on communicating with passion. The training activity is summarised by emphasising the importance of finding your own authentic voice.
Who is it for: This training resource is intended for use by trainers to help participants develop the skills of expressing difficult feelings in a way that clears the air, inspires others, and moves things forward.
| Resource Type: | Activity |
| Min Group Size: | 4 |
| Max Group Size: | 12 |
| Typical Duration: | 03:00:00 |
| No of Pages: | 27 |
Resources: View standard resources for Fenman training activities
Purpose: This training resource is intended for use by trainers for communication, influencing skills, and leadership programmes. It can be adapted for non-managerial staff by using different examples, and pointing out that everyone needs to influence others, whether they have managerial responsibility for teams or not.
Download the training activity, Expressing how we feel as featured in the Fenman training manual; Using Emotional Intelligence at Work