5 Tips To Boost Employee Emotional Intelligence Through Virtual Learning

virtual learning and emotional intelligenceIt is possible for you to use virtual learning to hone the emotional intelligence of employees. But then again, why is this necessary in an organization?

When someone is emotionally intelligent, that means he or she has a holistic awareness of themselves. It also means they have strong interpersonal skills. They also have empathy and the ability to understand their feelings and how it affects their actions and behavior. These are the traits that will help them function effectively in the workplace.

This is why elearning courses should consider how they can hone the emotional intelligence of employees. Knowledge and skills can be implemented in a better way with emotionally intelligent employees. They can resolve conflicts easily and are better suited to lead a team efficiently.

Admittedly, this is the most difficult of all the traits to develop. Fortunately, there are several techniques that you can use to give this type of intelligence a boost through virtual learning. Here are 5 that you can consider.

Group collaboration

The best way to experience emotions is by socializing. People can bring out the best and worst in us. This means you need to ensure that there are enough interaction and engagement in every virtual training program. You can come up with online projects that require teamwork. This exposes each employee to a wider range of emotions from their group. If ever there is a disagreement, that is fine. They need to learn how to resolve that in a peaceful yet constructive way. Through online collaborations, they are able to practice how to listen and communicate properly. You can use social media as a platform to get them to collaborate and interact. At least, this is something that everyone is familiar with.

Branching scenarios

Another technique that you can use is branching scenarios. This will test the social skills of employees. This is a type of learning strategy that will train them how to make decisions. They will be given scenarios and different consequences from the choices they will make. As they make a decision, it leads them into a different outcome. This will help them practice how to react and deal with different situations as it applies to their work.

Case studies

This is the third that you can do to help improve the emotional intelligence of employees through virtual learning. These are real-world stories and studies that show how people react. It can be an example of what employees should or should not do. Case studies are a great way to accurately identify how people react to situations. You can then highlight what was done correctly and what should be avoided. You can even use actual scenarios that the employees had been involved in before.

Games

This is another effective technique to practice emotional intelligence. The games will have to be fun, interactive and also engaging. Of course, it has to be serious enough to deal with real-life scenarios. Try to come up with games that revolve around characters. This way, they can learn how to empathize with these characters and pretend that they are one and the same. Just be careful with the rewards that you will set up in the game. Make sure it is not unrealistic.

Simulations

Finally, you want to make use of simulations that also mimic what happens in the real-world. If you can put pressure in it, that would be better. A simulation allows the employee to deal with situations without the necessary risk. It allows them to test different ways to react to it and how they should deal with the various stresses and pressures in virtual learning. Try to choose the right visual and audio elements to make it as realistic as possible.

Although challenging, virtual learning can help employees develop their emotional intelligence. You just have to know the right tools to use.

Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici for FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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