Dena Simmons, Director of Implementation at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, spoke to a group of professionals from all over Yale in both the Future Leaders of Yale and Yale African American Affinity groups on March 30 about the tools and resources for measuring and talking about Emotional Intelligence.
Simmons began by describing her own upbringing and education in the Bronx and Connecticut to give background to her research. Individual life experiences color how one feels about any given situation, and understanding where someone is coming from is integral to understanding how to communicate with them.
Attendees learned about the Center for Emotional Intelligence’s research on how emotions drive learning, relationships, health, and more; and experienced several tools provided by the Center, including the RULER – an acronym that stands for Recognizing, Understanding, Labeling, Expressing and Regulating emotions – currently used in many schools.
After showing and describing the basic tools used in the Center’s research and education, Simmons then described the Charter – a document created by a group which outlines how their working environment should make them feel, and gives them the tools for discussion if something doesn’t feel right.
“Emotional Intelligence has been discussed in our department before – and I’ve heard different ways to define the term and the work,” said attendee Emalie Mayo, Senior Administrative Assistant at the School of Drama and member of YAAA, “this workshop provided the chance to delve deeper and learn and discuss its meaning and implications with the experts. I’m inspired.”
Click on the links to learn more about the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, Dena Simmons, and RULER.