Emotional intelligence activities

The  activities of emotional intelligence can be applied in the school, work, family and even at a personal level. This skill is essential for success in work and personal life. With it, the person will learn to relate to others, understand them, understand their own emotions, and be assertive.

Emotional intelligence is one of the many skills we have and, therefore, it is important that we work on it and train it. We can do it through activities.

Being a person with high emotional intelligence has multiple benefits on a personal and interpersonal level. It involves a change in lifestyle and in the way we deal with our relationships and our communication style .

We can become emotionally intelligent people by practicing and acquiring certain habits.

In this post, I show you 10 activities related to emotional intelligence. Before putting them into practice, keep in mind what the objectives of each of them are and what type of groups are best adapted. If necessary, you can make certain changes to adapt them to your needs.

Various studies that have been carried out over the years, show data that shows how people who obtain higher grades, only their success is related to 20% with the IQ. In the remaining 80%, we find other factors and one of the most important is emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence and other skills that are closely related not only contribute to making us more human. They have multiple other consequences of a markedly positive nature, among which the ability to make decisions rationally stands out.

List of emotional intelligence activities

1- Accentuate the positive

• Objective: To improve the concept of oneself through the exchange of impressions with classmates.
• Time needed: 20 minutes, approximately.
• Group size: the group should not exceed 25 people.
• Place: large room or classroom that allows interaction between classmates.
• Necessary materials: sheets of paper and pens.
• Steps to follow:

1. The facilitator will begin by explaining what is common about the negative character of self-praise. Later, you will ask them to sit in pairs.
2. Each one should tell their partner:

-Two parts of his body that he likes.

-Two qualities you like about yourself.

– A capacity or own expertise.

3. There is a moment of reflection with the whole group in which they analyze how the exchange has gone, if they have felt comfortable talking about themselves in a positive way, etc.

• Others: Negative comments will not be accepted.

2- You’re worth it!

• Objective: Demonstrate the Pygmalion effect.
• Time needed: about half an hour.
• Group size: medium size group, about 20 people.
• Place: large room or classroom that allows interaction between classmates.
• Necessary materials: sheets of paper, pens, ten coins and a cardboard with a circle painted in the middle.
• Steps to follow:

1. The facilitator will ask for two volunteers. They must leave the room while the activities are explained to the rest of the group.
2. The group is divided into two subgroups. Group 1 should encourage and motivate the first volunteer, the second volunteer will be treated indifferently. Group 2 has to act neutrally towards the first volunteer and discourage the second.
3. The first volunteer enters and is asked to toss the coins, trying to get them into the circle on the cardboard that is about 2 meters away.
4. Repeat with the second volunteer.
5. Reflection on the result and how the volunteers felt. The dynamizer introduces the Pygmalion effect and is discussed.

3- Compass of emotions

• Objective: to distinguish the different emotions that we feel at certain times.
• Time needed: about half an hour.
• Group size: can be done in a medium-sized group or individually.
• Place: large room or classroom in which each person has space to work individually.
• Necessary materials: sheet of paper with the compass rose painted on it, something to write on.
• Steps to follow:

1. We paint the joy to the north and reflect on the question: What have I achieved?
2. To the south, we reflect the answer and we will answer What have I lost?
3. Between both emotions, we will place the achievement we have achieved, or the failure. It is important to make a positive reading.
4. In the east, we will put the anger. We will think about what attacks me or makes me feel at risk.
5. On the west side, we place fear. At this point, we will reflect on what our fears are.
6. We join the anger and fear through the threat and pay attention to identify the threats that we have present.
7. In the rest of the points, we can place other emotions that are present.

• Discussion: if the activity is carried out in a group and there is sufficient trust, people who wish to can share their emotions with their classmates.

4- Use metaphors

• Objective: learn to express the emotions we feel in a certain area of ​​our lives through the use of metaphors.
• Time needed: about 45 minutes.
• Group size : can be done in a medium-sized group or individually.
• Place: large room or classroom in which each person has space to work individually.
• Necessary materials:
• Steps to follow:

1. The group facilitator will ask everyone to select an area of ​​their lives that they would like to reflect on. It can be: work, leisure, family, friends, health, etc.
2. Individually, each one thinks of anecdotes from the field they have chosen and what emotions those memories evoke in them.
3. Then, they must think about what image the people who are part of that area have about you. Try to explain it with an adjective or an image.
4. People who wish to do so can share it with the rest of their classmates.

5-  The dictionary of emotions

• Objective:

1. Learn to catalog the emotions we experience.
2. To promote teamwork.

• Time needed: can be done with the group over time. It is an activity that can be carried out in the long term.
• Group size : it does not matter. It is important that there is trust and that the members are comfortable to talk about their emotions.
• Place: classroom or large room.
• Necessary materials: notebook and pen or it can be done in digital format.
• Steps to follow:

1. The person in charge of leading the group will propose the idea of ​​making a dictionary of emotions written by themselves.
2. For such, they must reserve work time. So that it is one more task to be carried out in that group.
3. Spaces for reflection will be promoted to talk about emotions or, the promoter will propose a specific emotion and, together, they will elaborate a definition of it.

• Discussion: the result is a dictionary created by everyone so that they can have it and work individually.

6- Potato!

• Objective: to reconsider the facial expression of certain emotions.
• Time needed: 30 minutes, approximately.
• Group size : medium, about 20 people.
• Place: classroom or large room.
• Necessary materials: cards in which emotions are written.
• Steps to follow:

1. The facilitator will ask for a volunteer who will have to go out and represent the emotion that appears on the piece they take.
2. Partners must guess what emotion it is. Together, they can characterize it and even accompany it with the verbal and non-verbal communication that accompanies it. Also, they can tell when they felt that way.
3. The facilitator will continue to ask for volunteers to characterize the different emotions that appear on the cards.

 7- Situations

• Objective:

1. Check how the group would act in certain situations.
2. Promote feelings of empathy.

• Time needed: 45 minutes, approximately.
• Group size : medium, about 20 people. If it is smaller, it will require less time.
• Place: large room or classroom in which each person has space to work individually.
• Necessary materials: cards with images or news (depending on the age and level of the group).
• Steps to follow:

1. The group facilitator will explain that they will present the group with a series of situations and that each one, individually, must reflect on each one of them. A list of questions can be attached, such as: what are the people in the picture feeling like, how do you think they are feeling, how would you feel in their place, what would you do if you were them, etc.
2. They are given some time to answer it individually and then a group debate is held.

• Other: It is important to approach this activity carefully depending on the target group. Also, you can choose the situations depending on the topic you want to address in a certain way.

In this case, it is proposed in the first place, the reflection individually and later, in a group. This condition can be altered and done first in subgroups and then the whole world debate or do it directly in a broad debate.

This series of issues must be assessed by the person in charge of managing the group.

 8- guide

• Objective: to foster trust among group members.
• Time needed: about 15 minutes.
• Group Size – Must not exceed 20 people.
• Location: preferably outdoors. In case it is impossible, a large room clear of furniture.
• Necessary materials: blindfolds for the eyes that prevent seeing.
• Steps to follow:

1. The facilitator will ask them to stand in pairs. Once they are done, they will distribute to each of them, a mask or handkerchief.
2. One of the members of the couple will cover their eyes in such a way that they do not see anything.
3. The person who does not have their eyes covered must guide their partner according to the orders that the facilitator says. For example: we walk, we turn to the right/left, we jump, we run, etc.
4. At no time may you touch your partner. She can only address him by talking to him.
5. After a while, the roles are changed. At this point, it is interesting that the facilitator changes the orders or repeats them in a disorderly manner so that no one expects what he should do.
6. Final reflection of the whole group in which they will express how they have had and if they have trusted their partner.

9- Where are we?

• Objective: to develop creativity.
• Time needed: about an hour.
• Group size : maximum 30 people.
• Location: large room.
• Required Materials: No materials are required.
• Steps to follow:

1. The facilitator will divide the group into subgroups based on their size.
2. To each one, without the other teams knowing, he will tell them what situation or circumstance they should represent.
3. Each team rehearses the performance for a few minutes.
4. When everyone is ready, they will represent the situation to the rest of their classmates and they will try to guess it.

• Discussion: After each group has presented their situation, it is proposed to hold a debate in which each member of the group can express how they felt performing the representation. Emphasis will be placed on the importance of teamwork and respect among colleagues.

10- Art-therapy

• Objective: learn new ways of expressing emotions.
• Time needed: 40 minutes.
• Group size : it does not matter.
• Place: large room or classroom in which each person has space to work individually.
• Necessary materials: continuous paper or cardboard, colors with which to paint (pencils, markers, temperas).
• Steps to follow:

1. The person who leads the group will tell them that through this dynamic what they intend is for each one to express their emotions by putting them on paper.
2. Everyone will take a seat where they will have access to the painting surface and the colors.
3. The facilitator will play music and each one must express on paper how they feel. During this time, it is forbidden to talk or communicate with other colleagues.
4. If you want to address the goal of expressing different emotions, different songs will be played that encourage different emotional expressions. For example: joy, sadness, loneliness, etc.
5. When the facilitator deems it appropriate, they will cut the music and encourage a group discussion to explore emotions on an individual level.

• Discussion: the drawings, or some of them, can become part of the decoration of the room.
• Others: in another session or after making the drawings, other ways of expressing emotions can be proposed, for example, through the body and dance.