12/12/2022

Emotions and their impact on effective communication

Introduction: What are emotions? Types of emotions and components.

Researchers have defined emotion as "the body's multidimensional response to any event that

enhances or inhibits one's goals." essentially, all human emotions fall into one of three

categories: joyful/affectionate, hostile, and sad. Joyful/affectionate emotions include happiness,

love, passion, and liking. Happiness is the most universally recognized of all human emotions. It

is a condition of contentment, pleasure, and good cheer. In all cultures, people express happiness

by smiling, laughing, and being energetic, and these characteristics are also interpreted as

happiness. When we feel happy, we tend to want to share with others by approaching them, and

reconnecting with them. The hostile emotions are anger, contempt, disgust, jealousy, and envy.

It is especially important to manage these emotions appropriately, as they can destroy our

relationships. Anger is the emotion we feel when we perceive we have been wronged. When we

feel that someone has wronged us, we might yell, throw things, make unpleasant facial

expressions, or even physically attack that person. Sad/anxious emotions can be just as

unpleasant as hostile emotions, but they prompt us to withdraw, instead of attack. As a result,

they can be just as damaging to our interpersonal relationships. Emotion of disgust occurs when

you have a feeling of revulsion in reaction to something offensive. This can be a foul odor, or a

message or image that you find profoundly offensive. When we perceive danger, our minds and

bodies react with fear. When we perceive danger and experience fear, certain responses in our

brains are triggered. Include increased heart rate and breathing rate, pupil dilation, and elevated
 stress hormones. Surprise, a brief emotional state, either positive or negative, following

something unexpected

Components of emotions:

Having emotions is a universal experience, and every person in the world has felt angry, shy,

scared, or embarrassed at some point in their lives. According to psychology Professor James

Gross, there are four components of feeling an emotion:

1. the situation you are in (whatever is happening to you at that moment);

2. the details you pay attention to;

3. your appraisal of what the situation means for you personally; and

4. your response, including the physical changes (like blushing or shaking), and your behaviors

(like shouting or crying).

Others:

Professor Klaus Scherer proposed that there are five different components to an emotion. These

are the components of his component-process model of emotion.

1. feelings (subjective feelings, like "I feel scared")

2. appraisals (thought patterns, like "I am under threat")

3. expressions (facial and bodily expressions of emotions, like being wide-eyed with fright)

4. action tendencies (the tendency to perform certain actions, like freezing or hiding); and

5. physical changes (physical symptoms of emotion, such as butterflies in the stomach)

Impact of emotions on effective communication

Feelings play a big role in communication. Emotional awareness, or the ability to understand

feelings, will help you succeed when communicating with other people. If you are emotionally

aware, you will communicate better. You will notice the emotions of other people, and how the

way they are feeling influences the way they communicate. You will also better understand what

others are communicating to you and why. Sometimes, understanding how a person is

communicating with you is more important than what is actually being said.

You can improve your emotional awareness by focusing on these five skills:

1. Consider other people’s feelings. Have you ever finished a conversation with someone and

found yourself wondering, “Why did she tell me that?” or, “I wonder why he talked to me like

that?”

For example, a coworker might tell you something personal that doesn’t seem important for you

to know. Or a supervisor might seem angry with you for no reason. Finding out why can tell you

a lot about what a person is trying to tell you. To figure out why, think about what the other

person is feeling. Consider any situations that may be affecting their emotions and how that

might in turn affect what they say to you.

2. Consider your own feelings. Just as other peoples’ feelings can affect the message they’re

trying to send, your own feelings can get in the way of your communication as well. When you

feel a strong emotion or feeling, pay attention to that emotion and try not to let it get in the way

of your message. Both positive emotions, like happiness, and negative emotions, like anger, can

get in the way of communication.

For example, if you’re really happy about something, you might agree to do things that you

shouldn’t or wouldn’t normally agree to do. On the other hand, if you’re angry, you might say

something mean to someone who has nothing to do with your being angry. When you have a

good understanding of your own feelings, you will notice these emotions and try not to let them

get in the way of your communication.

3. Have empathy. Empathy is the ability to understand and relate to the feelings of someone

else. Once you’ve learned to recognize another person’s feelings, you can go one step further and

actually relate to those feelings.

For example, if you notice that a coworker seems stressed, you should try to find out why. If she

tells you she is stressed out because she doesn’t have a lot of time to finish a big project, you can

empathize with her by putting yourself in her shoes. That means, you can imagine yourself in

this situation and you can understand what that person must be feeling.

When you have empathy for a person, you can think about how you would want to be talked to

or what you would like other people to say or do if you were in that situation. Going back to the

example with your coworker, you could offer to help your coworker with the project or offer

some words of encouragement.

4. Operate on trust. Good communication requires you to build trust between yourself and the

person with whom you’re communicating. You can earn the trust of others by sending nonverbal

cues that match your words.

For example, shaking your head no while you’re saying yes will send a confusing message. The

difference between your verbal and nonverbal communication could cause the other person to

question whether or not you’re telling the truth. Make sure that you always tell the truth, and you

can avoid these confusing situations.

It’s also important to trust your instincts when it comes to reading peoples’ emotions and

nonverbal cues. If your instincts tell you that something is strange about the way a person is

communicating to you, push yourself to look into it. If you don’t, you will find yourself

questioning the person you’re talking to, and you could develop feelings of mistrust for no

reason.

5. Recognize misunderstandings. A misunderstanding happens when two people think they are

on the same page about something, but in reality, they are thinking two different things.

Misunderstandings happen all the time, but emotional awareness can help you to avoid

misunderstandings. Misunderstandings are often caused by confusing emotions.

For example, if your coworker is upset about something, they might talk to you as if they are

angry with you, even if they are not. It’s tempting to walk away from this type of conversation

feeling like your coworker is mad at you, but this would just result in a misunderstanding.

Instead, recognize that your coworker is upset about something else and probably didn’t mean to

take their anger out on you.

The Advantages of Expressing Feelings

Expressing your feelings openly is beneficial to all honest relationships. The truism "honesty is

the best policy" is often recommended as the best way of dealing with interpersonal

relationships. Dishonesty usually fosters mistrust and uncertainty in any relationship, regardless

of whether the dishonesty is discovered. Expressing yourself clearly and dispassionately will

help develop and maintain healthy relationships both professionally and personally.

1. Increased Self-Awareness

Articulating your emotions is one way of clarifying them. Humans are creatures of language, and

when the power of speech is used to put feelings into words, often your listener will understand

your feelings better. Hearing the words spoken helps reinforce what is being felt. Sharing

feelings with others helps a person to become more self-aware. Usually the listener will assist in

this process by re-framing and repeating what was said as the speaker reflects upon the words

and emotions that were expressed.

2. Improved Relationships

When feelings are shared, both communicators are likely to feel an increased closeness as a

result. The listener might be flattered that she was chosen to be the recipient of this information

and might volunteer some of her own feelings as a gesture of reciprocity. Conversely, when a

relationship is based merely on superficial dialogue and feelings are never shared, a lack of

camaraderie is evident, and the relationship will be lacking in depth. Emotions are personal and

usually kept confidential. When shared with someone trustworthy, the trust between parties

increases.

3. Greater Emotional Well-Being

The old expression, "unspoken feelings never die" is true. Harboring a grudge without ever

informing the other party of how you feel they wronged you can increase resentment. The

expression "clearing the air" does exactly that. Once the feelings have been expressed, the

person divulging his emotions feels a sense of relief and peace of mind. However, these feelings

must be expressed in a non-aggressive manner or the effect might be a negative rather than

positive one. Another expression, "getting it off your chest" alludes to the suffocating,

oppressive, negative feeling of bottled up emotions. Expressing these emotions appropriately can

be cathartic. If the person carrying these emotions does not have a trusted friend, a professional

therapist will serve the purpose.

4. Physiological Benefits

You might experience a mind-body connection. Stress caused by upsetting events in life as well

as pent-up feelings could lead to ulcers, sleeplessness, and headaches or lower the

immune system's resistance to infection. As a result, the threat of colds, the flu or even more

serious health complications increase. Doctors often recommend exercise as a healthy stress

reducer because exercise releases endorphins in the brain which lead to a greater sense of well-

being. A Psychology Today website quoted Nathaniel Thom, asters physiologist, in a New York

Times Sunday Magazine article titled "Phys Ed- Can Exercise Moderate Anger?" stating that

that exercise reduces anger. Exercise can therefore allow you to express your feelings without

anger, which will likely lead to a calming effect on your life.

The disadvantages of Expressing Feelings

Over Sharing
When you discuss your feelings, you are sharing an intimate part of yourself with another

person. This expression may not always be appropriate. For instance, your boyfriend may want

to hear about an argument you have with your parents, but your boss may not want to engage

you on such a personal level. You have to be aware of your situation before sharing emotions

that may be seen as inappropriate or may make your business contacts uncomfortable.

Unintended Consequences

You must always weigh the potential consequences of expressing your emotions. As an example,

if something one of your co-workers does annoys you, sharing that emotion may cause

permanent damage in your relationship with that person. The same can be said for expressing

your passionate love for a friend or your complete disappointment in a family member.

Expressing your emotions is usually good, but you have to make sure you consider the emotions

of others before you begin sharing.

References:

1. Universal Class, The effects of emotions on communications <

https://www.universalclass.com/articles/business/communication-studies/the-effects-of-

emotions-on-communications.htm>

2. MacCann, C, (January 15, 2021), “ What are Emotions?”, Psychology Today, Sussex

Publishers, LLC<

https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/dealing-emotions/202101/what-are-

emotions>

3. Schmitz T, ( June 3, 2016), “ The importance of emotional awareness in

communication”, Conover, The conover company,

<https://www.conovercompany.com/the-importance-of-emotional-awareness-in-

communication/>

4. Sonamtshering S, (n.d), “ Advantage & disadvantage of expressing feelings”, ehow,

Academia<https://www.academia.edu/9105600/Advantages_and_Disadvantages_of_Exp

ressing_Feelings>