I'm going down the garden to eat worms
Featured in the Listening Skills training manual
By Jessica Madge
Category: Communication Skills
Credit price: 4 download credits (Single user)
When dealing with people who are showing their feelings, it is not always easy to interpret those feelings. This is because people sometimes hide one emotion beneath another which they feel more comfortable with. Thus, an angry customer could be feeling anxiety, but expresses anger as they feel more comfortable with this. Or a withdrawn member of staff who appears depressed might actually be masking anger. If we can put ourselves in the other person’s shoes and understand what they are really feeling, then we have a greater chance of showing empathy successfully. The ability to perceive the feelings beneath the surface is an aspect of ‘emotional intelligence’ that can help us deal more effectively with people during the course of our work.
You begin this training activity by explaining the concept that people might substitute one emotion for another, after which you ask participants to complete an exercise with a partner to identify their own favourite bad feeling. Then, they work in groups, analysing some examples, and working out how they could empathise with the person’s true feelings. Finally, you lead a plenary discussion in which participants review their conclusions and share future action plans.
Who is it for: This training activity is intended for use by trainers to teach participants that people sometimes mask their true emotions with a feeling with which they are more comfortable.
| Resource Type: | Activity |
| Min Group Size: | 4 |
| Max Group Size: | 20 |
| Typical Duration: | 02:15:00 |
| No of Pages: | 22 |
Resources: View standard resources for Fenman training activities
Additional resources: Clipboards for participants (optional).
Purpose: This advanced training activity is suitable for those who have learned the basic listening skills, including how to reflect feelings. It will help participants to refine their ability to deal with emotions in others and to empathise effectively. It could be used as part of an ongoing development programme in emotional intelligence, or as part of a course on counselling, dealing with staff problems, handling complaints, negotiation or mediation. It links with ‘The music in the message’, ‘Those uncertain feelings’ and ‘Double act’.
Download the training activity, I'm going down the garden to eat worms as featured in the Fenman training manual; Listening Skills