Saturday July 10, 2004
Play activities to enhance EQ
Story and picture by LIZ PRICE
When I was invited to participate in an EQ Six Seconds workshop I had no idea what was on offer. “EQ, what’s that?” . Then I found out it means Emotional Quotient, just like IQ represents Intelligence Quotient.
So on Day One, I found myself in a room with about 20 other participants, being warmly welcomed by our trainer, Amy Wan-Ratos, 44. I was pleased to see that the group consisted of a good mix of ages, races and working backgrounds. This was a great asset as we were able to contribute a wide range of ideas.
Although EQ awareness is relatively new in Malaysia, it has been very popular in the US for the last 30 years. Wan-Ratos trained in the States, and uses Six Seconds, which is an EQ training programme practised in more than 20 countries. The programme builds character, integrity, and commitment.
I had been told it was a three-day fun class. Within the first hour, we had each been handed a box of crayons, and asked to draw two pictures, one of negative feelings and one of good feelings. Afterwards, a few people volunteered to show their creations to the class.
Later that day, we were each given a box of plasticine to portray various emotions. It was interesting to see what ideas people came up with. My friend Simon based all his on the yellow “smiley face”, changing the mouth shape to suit the emotions.
There were other hilarious activities in store besides crayon and plasticine. We all stood in a big circle, and threw a ball to each other. We had to remember the order, and then reverse the order. This drew a few laughs as people forgot who was supposed to be the next recipient. The object of this exercise was to take notice and therefore remember.
The blanket game is a good test of memory recall and reaction time lapse.
Conducting the programme in a “hands-on” style, with activities and practical projects led to laughter and surprisingly, learning. In between each “playtime” activity, we did more serious stuff which dwelt on feelings and emotions. Most people soon felt relaxed and there was no embarrassment about sharing private feelings with our immediate neighbour.
Another amusing exercise was to sort ourselves out into one long line, according to our birth dates and months. We were not allowed to talk. Instead we had to do this by other methods of communication. This led to a lot of gesticulating. There were lots of fingers wagging for people born on the 31st of the month.
One exercise repeated many times was where we had to learn the eight EQ fundamentals. These are quite complex phrases, such as “enhance emotional literacy”, “apply consequential thinking”, “engage intrinsic motivation”, etc. So we devised some simple body movements, each to depict a particular phrase. This was called a “human poster”. Over the three days, we went through the routine of performing the eight actions.
Our trainer enlightened us on the programme name, Six Seconds. We need to take six seconds to cool down when faced with an emotion. For instance, if someone says something which makes a person mad, that person should wait six seconds before responding or taking action. It is a cooling down period.
We were given a brief introduction of how the brain works, and came to realise that if we act immediately, the area of the brain that thinks logically is “hijacked” which can lead to an impulsive action. This was well demonstrated in an amusing game.
We split up into two teams, separated by a blanket barrier. One member of each team sat by the barrier and as soon as the obstruction was removed, those two people had to call out the other person’s name. In many cases, the people got so lost for words that they just uttered “err, err err”. It took a few seconds before the brain kicked in logically and recalled that person’s name. The game was hilarious, especially when some disguised themselves in other people’s spectacles, etc, but we learnt a valuable lesson from it. Use that six second pause when necessary.
Six Seconds is now the name of an American company which specialises in Emotional Intelligence training. Wan-Ratos studied with Anabel Jensen, the founding president of Six Seconds, and is now a consultant licensed to conduct its workshops.
The three days were full of exercises; many of us hadn’t laughed so much in a long time. During the serious moments of dwelling on our feelings, our trainer played cassettes of motivational music, which gave a relaxing feel to the atmosphere.
Many in the group work as managers or with youths, so the topics covered benefited them.
One group member, Aaron Tham, 46, works with Focus on the Family, and gave a brief introduction of its work. They are trying to educate Malaysian youth to abstain from premarital sex. This in turn will cut down on the number of unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, etc., he said.
Wan-Ratos shared many personal stories with us illustrating how important it is to understand ourselves, our thoughts and our feelings. The last major exercise we did was called “pursue noble goals”. In this, we had to think of our personal goals, which would hopefully extend beyond our lifetime. Many in the group found this quite difficult. It sounds simple written on paper, but in practice, it was a tough challenge.
Throughout the workshop, we were rewarded with tokens for our participation in the exercises. At the end of the course, we could redeem our tokens for small gifts. It was a simple but effective idea, as it encouraged people to share thoughts rather than keeping quiet. And in true Malaysian style, there was abundant food. As the trainer commented, some people need to snack in order to learn or concentrate!
All in all, it was a great experience for me and a fascinating introduction into a new topic. I thoroughly recommend the workshop, which will benefit you, and in turn, your family, friends and colleagues. W
Integrative Leadership
70, Jalan Setiajasa
Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur
Tel: (03) 2094 6119
E-mail: ilmsb@po.jaring.my
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There will be a Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence workshop from Sept 20 to 22 in KL.
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