Module 4 · Foundations
Emotional intelligence
Free — no account needed to read
Noticing feelings — yours and theirs — and responding rather than reacting.
By the end of this module
You will name what you feel, steady yourself when it runs high, and read other people with curiosity rather than assumption.
Your emotions
- Recognising and naming emotions — A precise word for a feeling makes it easier to handle. (6 min · Beginner)
- Steadying yourself — Emotional regulation and managing frustration before it manages you. (7 min · Practising)
- Responding rather than reacting — A few seconds of space turns a reaction into a choice. (6 min · Beginner)
- Handling embarrassment — Everyone has awkward moments. How to recover and even laugh. (5 min · Beginner)
Other people’s emotions
- Empathy: what it is and isn’t — Understanding a feeling is different from agreeing with it or fixing it. (7 min · Beginner)
- Seeing it from their side — Perspective taking, and making sense of other people’s reactions. (7 min · Practising)
- Reading social context — “What might be happening here?” — several explanations before one conclusion. (7 min · Practising)
- Emotional boundaries — Caring about someone’s feelings without carrying all of them. (6 min · Practising)
- Emotional intelligence as an idea — Goleman’s popular framework: what holds up, and what was oversold. (7 min · Deeper)