Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care. Theodore Roosevelt
I was recently at a conference and was talking with another attendee about the Emotional Intelligence and Empathy workshop that Henireta and I lead. This person leads some similar workshops and shared the above quote with me as one of her inspirations. The quote resonated so strongly with me that I had to share it with Henrieta and you!
Over the past few weeks Henrieta and I have been blogging about Emotional Intelligence and Empathy. Emotional Intelligence (EQ) being defined as the awareness of one's personal emotions, (expressing and controlling them) and the ability to handle interpersonal relationships with care and empathy. Learning and utilizing the skillsets for EQ and practicing empathy in all our relationships; business, personal, new, and old have a rippling effect in the community. Those with EQ show that they care, and people want to hear what they have to say. Just like in the quote above.
A few years ago, I was a part of a group training to be Stephen Ministers. “Stephen Ministers are lay congregation members trained to provide one-to-one care to those experiencing a difficult time in life, such as grief, divorce, job loss, chronic or terminal illness, or relocation.” (a great training program. I highly recommend it) During the training we were talking about different ways to invite others into conversation and what to say when we don’t know what to say. One person shared their tried-and-true statement. One that guides others to share in different ways and leads to better understanding. The statement is: Tell me more.
Three simple yet powerful words. People have shared with me how easy this person is to talk to and that when they spend time with her, they feel heard and cared for. I have also experienced this firsthand. Wow. I want to be like her when I grow up! I have taken these words and put them into my personal toolbox. I use them when appropriate and share them with others every chance I get.
This story is an example of the ripple effect that I mentioned earlier. The gift of these words was given to our group. We used them in our lives and shared them with others, who used them and shared them, and so on and so on, the gift just keeps giving.
Sharing ideas like EQ and empathy with others can get people thinking about their value, but it is the stories and the skillset that we put into our toolboxes for future use that carries the true impact.
What are some of the stories, skills, and words that you have in your toolbox? How have they made an impact in your life and/or the lives of others. All I have to say is…
Tell me more.
In our next blog Henrieta shares her stories, skills, and words about leadership in parenting.