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Let's "unpack" self-confidence Do you present yourself with self-assurance? Can you go out on a limb for what is right? Are you decisive and able to make sound decisions? If you answered "yes" to these questions, you are a self-confident person - kudos to you! If, however, you feel that you need to improve your rating (by a little or a lot), then you are most definitely in the right place. In the Emotional Intelligence equation, self-confidence comprises: Self-assurance and presence Doing the right thing Making sound decisions. Let's look at each of these attributes now.... Being more aware of your emotions, how you manage your emotions, and how you respond to different situations is one of the ways to more positive outcomes. This greater awareness naturally leads on to more accurate self-assessment. Accurate self-assessment involves pinpointing your inner resources, abilities, and strengths while recognising your limits. It comes from a willingness to receive feedback and new perspectives about yourself. It is driven by an aspiration for continuous learning and self-development. Let's Break Accurate Self-Assessment Down The keys to accurate self-assessment include: Are you aware of your strengths and weaknesses? Do you know your resources, your abilities, and your limits? Are you open to feedback, new perspectives, continuous learning, and self-improvement? Can you laugh at yourself? Let's get started! Why Is Emotional Awareness Important? 1. Being aware of your emotions, and how they impact your behaviour is vital to your mental health and well-being. Your emotions are pivotal to how you adapt to the challenges of your daily life. Have you noticed that when you are feeling in high spirits, you're able to tackle even the most tedious tasks? But when you're down in the dumps, everything, even enjoyable activities, is coloured with a sense of gloom and doom. 2. As importantly, being aware of your emotions, and how they impact your behaviour increases positive interactions with others. If a friend tells you a distressing story and you react by grinning rather than looking sad or concerned, you'll seem rude and insensitive. On the other hand, if you glower when you should laugh at your friend's jokes, you will make them feel bad. Ditto over-reacting. Let's Break It Down The keys to emotional awareness include: Knowing what emotions you are feeling, and why? Linking your feelings to what you think, say, and do. Recognising how your feelings affect your performance. Using your values to guide your decision making. Next Analyse what emotions you are feeling, and why? Communication skills are vital to good emotional intelligence. You need to be able to listen to others, and also convey your own thoughts and, perhaps more importantly, feelings. As a soon-to-be-graduate, you no doubt feel excited and are enjoying your status as a big fish. Not too long from now, though, when you start your first proper job, you will go back to being a small fish in a big pond. (Such is life!) While academic communication has some similarities to communicating in the business world, communicating in a work environment is a whole new ballgame for many graduates. To give you the Dux advantage, this course explores communication which is business-related: Communication Barriers in the Workplace Emotionally Intelligent Communication Business Communication Business Etiquette Communicating Digitally Let's dive right in! As social beings, we cannot exist without communication. We need to interact with people around us, to make sense of the world and to position ourselves in a wider social and cultural reality. At the end of this course you will: Find opportunities for the development of self-awareness. Create opportunities for participants to connect with each other and recognise different styles of communication. Content There are timeframes for the communication of a message: Synchronous communication Asynchronous communication Come on! Let's dive right in. We all use words and language to interact with people every day. But do we really communicate effectively? At the end of this lesson you will fulfill these outcomes: Identifying and improving listening skills. Improving communication skills. Developing an awareness of personal interactive styles. We will achieve the above by: Offering opportunities for the development of self-awareness. Creating opportunities for participants to connect with each other and recognise different styles of communication. Content Communication can be broken down into these three parts: Let's listen Let's talk Let's tune in... to you. Come on! Let's dive right in. Score yourself using this table: Reflect on this → If you scored: 8 - 13 Right now, you believe that your intelligence is fixed—that it doesn’t change much. On the whole, if you can’t perform perfectly, you would rather not do something. You probably think that smart people don’t have to work hard to succeed. You are probably hard on yourself when you don't perform well. Maybe you even avoid things you would like to try because you are afraid that you may fail or look bad while trying. This may be holding you back from achieving all that you could if you put forth your best effort in all areas. For example, maybe there are things that you think you are “just not good at,” and you've cut yourself off from opportunities to learn. Maybe you give up quickly when something seems difficult. And maybe you experience a lot more stress than you would like when you feel that you are being evaluated. Chances are that you probably have a lot more potential than you are using! People who believe that they can increase their intelligence through effort and challenge actually get smarter and do better in school, work, and life over time. They know that mental exercise makes their brains grow smarter—the same way that exercise makes an athlete stronger and faster. And they are always learning new ways to work smart and build their brains. Your mindset is definitely something that you can change. 14 -18 Right now, you are unsure about whether you can develop your intelligence. You probably care about performing well and you do want to learn, but you may not want to have to work too hard for it. You may feel a bit discouraged when you perform poorly at something. This could be holding you back from doing your best, if it deters you from taking on challenges or causes you to experience anxiety when you aren’t sure that you will do well at something. Maybe there are things that you think you are “just not good at.” You may be coasting when you could be excelling. You probably have more potential than you are using! People who believe that they can increase their intelligence through effort and challenge actually get smarter and do better in school, work, and life over time. They know that mental exercise makes their brains grow smarter—the same way that exercise makes an athlete stronger and faster. And they are always learning new ways to work smart and build their brains. Remember that a growth mindset is something that you can develop. 19 -24 You know that you can increase your intelligence by learning, and you like a challenge. You believe that the best way to learn is to work hard, and you don’t mind making mistakes while you do it. This is what we call the “growth mindset.” Even though you have a great foundation, there may be some areas where you could benefit from learning how to cultivate your growth mindset practices. Maybe you could use techniques to make the most of negative feedback, or explore the possibility of growth in areas that you have neglected. You might gain from strategies to boost learning and productivity. Or you might like to learn how to help others develop growth mindset thinking. You probably still have lots of ways to grow! People who believe that they can increase their intelligence through effort and challenge actually get smarter and do better in school, work, and life over time. They know that mental exercise makes their brains grow smarter—the same way that exercise makes an athlete stronger and faster. And they are always learning new ways to work smart and build their brains. Remember that a growth mindset is something that you should continue to develop throughout life. Everyone in the world has a way of perceiving things and unique beliefs about their own abilities and potential. We call this a mindset. You have a mindset, your friends have a mindset, and your lecturers have a mindset. You can choose to look at the world in a way that makes you feel strong and happy, or in a way that makes you feel frustrated and weak. Your mindset is so powerful that it can fuel your behaviour and predict your success. Mindset shapes your everyday life, helping you to interpret your experiences and future possibilities. Dr. Carol Dweck of Stanford University identified two different types of mindsets: People with a fixed mindset feel as if they are stuck with the way things are. They believe their intelligence and abilities cannot be altered in a meaningful way. As a result, they see mistakes as failures rather than opportunities to grow and learn. When stuck in a fixed mindset, we may fear new experiences, avoid risks, and feel the need to repeatedly prove ourselves to others. A fixed mindset happens to all of us at some time or another but it's important we choose to have a growth mindset, keep trying, and stick with challenges. People with a growth mindset believe they can improve their intelligence and abilities by working hard and trying different strategies. They keep trying even when things are tough and they say things such as, “I can’t do this...yet” or “Mistakes help me learn.” A willingness to confront challenges, a passion for learning, and viewing failure as a springboard for growth are all characteristics associated with a growth mindset. Developing a growth mindset is crucial for a successful, happy life. By putting in the effort and using the right strategies to help you get better at things, you will feel empowered and try harder. Knowing your brain is capable of growing will give you more confidence, resilience, and the ability push through the fear of failure! How To Train Your Brain Did you know you grow your brain when you try new things and don’t give up when something is tough? Learning something new is hardest the first time, but your brain behaves like a muscle and gets stronger every time things are repeated. Recent developments in neuroscience have revealed that our brains are far more malleable than we ever realised. Studies on brain plasticity have proven that the connections between neurons can be altered. With training, your neural networks can grow new connections, strengthen your existing ones, and add insulation which speeds up the transmission of impulses. In other words, you can increase your neural growth with your actions - using good strategies, asking questions, practising, and following good nutrition and sleep habits. Research has shown that it is indeed possible to change from a fixed to growth mindset, and when that happens, it leads to greater motivation and achievement. The Power of Yet... Quiz Time Take the quiz below next to discover what kind of mindset you have: People with this competence: Model team qualities such as respect, helpfulness, and cooperation Draw all members into active and enthusiastic participation Build team identity, esprit de corps, and commitment Protect the group and its reputation and share credit People with this competence: Balance a focus on task with attention to relationships Collaborate - sharing plans, information, and resources Promote a friendly and cooperative climate Spot and nurture opportunities for collaboration