Business leaders need to know how to keep their cool in emotional moments. These two simple frameworks will help.
Read the article and pick the right answer a)-d) to the questions below:
1. What does the author refer to as an “emotional hijack”?
a) moment when someone becomes extremely angry
b) time when emotions take over and control one’s behaviour
c) A situation where someone completely loses their temper
d) An instance of saying something hurtful to others
2. What is the primary purpose of the phrases “They don’t know” and “I don’t know”?
a) To criticise other people’s perspectives
b) To avoid difficult conversations
c) To prove one’s intelligence
d) To help manage emotional reactions
3. According to the text, what does the phrase “They don’t know” encourage people to do?
a) Ignore the other person completely
b) Look down on others
c) Reduce the emotional impact of a situation
d) Become more defensive
4. How does the author describe the relationship between empathy and agreement?
a) Empathy always means agreeing with someone
b) Empathy and agreement are the same thing
c) Empathy does not equal agreement
d) Agreement is more important than empathy
5. What is the main benefit of using the phrase “I don’t know”?
a) To stop oneself from making judgements
b) To appear more intelligent
c) To avoid difficult conversations
d) To prove one’s point
6. What does the author suggest about emotional intelligence?
a) It is impossible to control emotions
b) Emotions should always be suppressed
c) Emotions can be managed with specific techniques
d) Only professionals can understand emotions
7. What is the overall message of the text about handling emotional situations?
a) Always react immediately to hurtful comments
b) Suppress all emotional responses
c) Develop strategies to understand and manage emotions
d) Avoid interactions that might cause emotional stress
Key: 1b; 2d; 3c; 4c; 5a; 6c; 7c
Glossary
- to go off (on sb) – (North American English, informal) to suddenly become angry with somebody
- snarky – criticizing somebody in an unkind way
- lens – something that facilitates and influences perception, comprehension, or evaluation
Practice makes perfect
Fill in the gaps in the article extract with the words in bold below:
pitfalls enrich calamity irksome knee-jerk
catch master outlets resist striking a balance
Once upon a time people firmly believed that thinking and feeling were two separate capacities, destined to often clash. As 17th-century Dutch philosopher Baruch de Spinoza put it, “When a man is prey to his emotions, he is not his own master, but lies at the mercy of fortune.” By this logic, the intensity of experiences such as sadness, anger or fear can trump our reasoning. Yet modern research tells us otherwise. We are not slaves to our passing passions; rather we regulate emotions all of the time. You 1. …….. exploding at a client just because he is tardy, and you manage not to throw things at the house next door during their noisy barbecue. Controlling anger and frustration keeps our professional and private lives on track—and prevents 2. ………. situations from escalating.
Regulating emotions goes beyond keeping them down. We also need to find healthy 3. ………… for our feelings. These inner responses, after all, can be excellent guides, as when fear warns you off a risky choice. They 4. ………… daily life as well, leading us to revel in the joy of a birthday party or hoot ecstatically when a favorite team wins a game.
How exactly we go about 5. …………… with our emotions is a topic that psychologists have been plumbing for decades. Their work has underscored that there is no single perfect approach. A good option in one case could be cataclysmic in another scenario. Instead we rely on dozens of techniques. (…)
The 6. …..…….., however, is that most of our responses at each stage are automatic. How we react in the face of 7. ………… is often the result of habit or circumstance rather than deliberate choice. “The learned set of emotion regulation behaviors is powerful and not easy to modify,” (…).
Yet we can learn complementary techniques to make the most of our 8. ………… (= automatic, instinctive) responses. Current research has confirmed that with a little training and awareness, we can learn to avoid potential 9. …………. and prevail over every part of this process. By heightening sensitivity to long-term goals, the broader context of an event and a feeling’s intensity, we can make smart choices in even fraught situations. In short, we can 10. ……….. our emotions. (…)
In order to read the whole article/check your answers, go to: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/control-your-feelings-in-5-stages
Key: 1. resist; 2. irksome; 3. outlets; 4.enrich; 5. striking a balance; 6. catch; 7. calamity; 8. knee-jerk; 9. pitfalls; 10. master
Discuss:
- How do you usually control your emotions in stressful situations?
- What techniques do you find helpful for keeping your cool when faced with challenges?
- Can you describe a time when emotional intelligence helped you resolve a conflict?
- In what ways do you think understanding emotions can improve personal relationships?
- How do you handle situations where others struggle to maintain their composure?
- What role does empathy play in managing emotions effectively?
Watch and revise!
Mastering Emotions
Keep Your Cool with These Simple Tips
https://www.cloud.worldwideschool.pl/index.php/s/fA2Zqb35SRyAG3E
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