“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”~ Antione de Saint-Exupery
Enhance Emotional Literacy
Definition: Accurately identifying and understanding feelings.
Importance: Emotions are chemicals, a form of neurotransmitter, that provide data about yourself and others; emotions are a feedback system delivering information that drives behavior and decisions. Emotional literacy is the capacity to access and interpret that data.
Enhance Emotional Literacy is one of the core competencies of “Know Yourself” in the六个Seconds Model of Emotional Intelligence.
Emotional literacy helpsyou notice, name, and understand feelings. This provides critical information about you (and about others), which gives you insight into the core drivers of behavior. This understanding is also key to managing your reactions.
Video
What are emotions and where do they come from?
Recommended Tools
EQ for Families: Emotional Literacy Workshop:Help parents and caregivers increase emotional literacy — the foundation to emotional intelligence. This program, “The Power of Feelings: Parenting with Emotional Intelligence,” will help them communicate with their children, recognize and manage emotions, and increase self-awareness.
Emotional Literacy Museum:The Emotional Literacy Museum is a self-directed learning experience teaching about the physiology of emotions, emotional regulation, and emotional literacy.
Mixed Emotions Cards– a beautiful deck of “tarot-like” cards of feelings (labeled with feelings and synonyms)
eMotion Cards– evocative, playful moon face illustrations of emotions (open-ended without labels)
Biodots– a simple reminder that emotions are part of our physiology
Bingo Emotions– classic “bingo” game played with emotions (in English & Spanish)
Feeling Faces– photos of real people and data about how survey respondents evaluated each picture
六个Seconds Emotional Intelligence Assessmentwith debrief which provides feedback about the way you’re currently using your EQ and how to improve in this area
EQ for Families: Emotional Literacy Workshop– Help parents and caregivers increase emotional literacy — the foundation to emotional intelligence.
Articles about Emotional Literacy
Enhance Emotional Literacy
(7/13/2023)
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Emotional literacy helps you notice, name, and understand feelings. This provides critical information about you (and about others), which gives you insight into the core drivers of behavior. This understanding is also key to managing your reactions....
12 Practical Tips for Emotional Wellbeing by Being Smarter with Feelings
(6/19/2023)
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你反对自己的感受吗?有s a better way to handle emotions to support wellbeing -- 12 easy ways to practice emotional intelligence...
How Are You Feeling About Feelings? Coaching with Emotional Intelligence
(4/5/2023)
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EQ Coaches value all emotions as resources that provide insight and energy. But that doesn’t mean we “make” clients talk about feelings. In fact, often words get in the way of understanding emotions....
7 Amazing Facts About Emotions You Should Know
(8/19/2022)
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Got emotions? Everyone needs these 7 amazing facts about emotions and why we have them....
Emotion, Feeling, Mood: What’s the Difference?
(7/15/2022)
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The neuroscience is fascinating, emotions are immediate biological signals, feelings come later, and moods build up over time....
Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions: Feelings Wheel
(3/13/2022)
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Make sense of emotions with this interactive feelings wheel. Robert Plutchik's wheel of emotions explained - guide & free download...
7 Emotional Intelligence Facts: Take the Quiz and Get Practical Tips to Apply Today
(6/16/2021)
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测试你的情商和知识gain key insights to bring EQ to life at home and at work...
5 SEL Check-In Activities for Your Classroom
(3/16/2021)
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Social emotional learning is essential for academic and life success. Here are 5 quick, easy check-in activities to bring SEL to life in your classroom....
Getting Unstuck: The Power of Naming Emotions
(1/8/2021)
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Traffic is always stressful, right? Turns out, there's a secret neuroscience tip about naming emotions that can help. It's simple and powerful....
Racism and Re-humanizing Emotions (#25)
(8/27/2020)
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What’s the importance of honoring the complexity and fullness of emotions especially experienced by BIPOC in the wake of racial bias?...
more emotional literacy articles on our site
Other Resources
HBR blog on recognizing emotionshttp://blogs.hbr.org/bregman/2012/05/do-you-know-what-you-are-feeli.html
Paul Ekman’sEmotions Revealed
Chip Conley’sEmotional Equations
- Enhance Emotional Literacy- July 13, 2023
- Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions: Feelings Wheel- March 13, 2022
- Technology Loneliness: EQ Tips from Daniel Goleman- October 24, 2020
Find the right assessment with the Tool Finder
The greatest maturing skill I ever gained was to learn have the ability to notice, name and understand my feelings.
Being able to identify and understand the emotions we experience it allows us to know more about what makes us tick and in turn have a positive impact with our relationship with others too. Building better relationships with ourselves and others. Just by doing the EQ Associate I have learnt so much already about myself
My son has recently been diagnosed with emotional literacy what can i do to help him he’s 11
Hi Clair – Not heard of this diagnosis… but hopefully there are ideas on this page to help. To develop emotional literacy at that age, I suggest playing a lot with the Think, Feel, Act cards:https://products.6seconds.org/product/think-feel-act-cards/
Maybe whoever provided the diagnosis could take a look tell you if this is a good idea for your son?
i wish I could SEE THE EMOTIONS CHART?
please redo it much LARGER??
Susan, do you mean the “flower” in the Plutchik Model? Try clicking to view the article, it has a large version.
Good stuff; want more.
Know recognize what goes on inside of us, in every cell of our body, through the understanding of our emotions is the first step for we connect better with ourselves. Know that our electromagnetic field is connected to the electromagnetic field of others, helps us to recognize our attunement with others and to create more empathetic, benevolent and noble relations.
In the short video, Josh states that we are not just tuned in to our own emotional signals, but the signals of others. This made me think about how we will sometimes say that the energy level of the room is low or high. A strong leader is in tune with the energy level of his/her colleagues and is able to use that recognition to monitor and adjust his/her leadership approach.