QUESTION FOR YOU:

By Mary Carter
​President, Learning Designs, Inc.

Have you noticed the increased interest in Emotional Intelligence (or EQ) lately? I’m wondering how it relates to our growing reliance on technology. Walk into any meeting or training event, and count the number of people with their faces down and focused on their phones. Look at the customers in a restaurant, and you’ll see the same thing. Young people no longer have face-to-face conversations; they communicate via text even in the same room. It’s no wonder EQ skills are lacking!
​
If you Google EQ, you’ll find a wealth of training options – many of them online. We’re teaching people how to identify and manage their emotions – as well as the emotions of others – by interacting with a computer screen. I may be a traditionalist, but I believe this ignores Bloom’s Taxonomy and the instructional methods appropriate for different levels of learning. Some things are learned better in a classroom, with opportunities to practice and receive feedback. I believe EQ is one of them. What do others out there think?