“Bingo” Promotes Emotional Intelligence in Mexico

The Second International Congress on Emotional Intelligence in Cancún Q. Roo México on June 6, 2008 included experts from the Emotional Intelligence community, HR professionals, consultants, and researchers. The presentations focused on how to apply emotional intelligence in organization and schools. Six Seconds Network member Dr. Patricia Marinez Abarca delivered a featured presentation using the new Bingo Emotions tool.

Through different presentations and training sessions on EQ, participants learned how emotional intelligence influences behavior in a wide range of domains including school, community, and the workplace. Sessions included individual coaching, achievement motivation, self-management, interpersonal skills, stress management etc. — and how participants can improve their own level of emotional competence.

In her session: Learning Emotional Competence and Cognitive Abilities By Playing Bingo Emotions in Organizations, Business and Schools, Patricia trained participants, practice and develop different skills: Self Awareness, Managing Feelings, Non Verbal Communication, Attentiveness, Social Abilities, Empathy, and Communication.

Three key points from the session:

• Participants were most interested in the first lesson:  Using Bingo Emotions to recognize emotions: the participants select one feeling from his/her Bingo board or from Facial Expression Cards and describes that feeling in a specific situation or experience.  Everyone was focus and involved, and listened to each other carefully. They focused on understanding what is behind each feeling, and finding ways to handle anger, fears, concerns, stress, etc. Participants began to develop the habit of attentiveness, which lets them understand themselves better, process their feelings, and gain insight from each emotional experience.
• The activity participants enjoyed most was telling a story, and the exploring the impact of facial expressions and words using the different feelings on their Bingo card(s) and board(s).  They quickly established a sense of mutual trust and friendship so the groups were relaxed, open, and engaged.  Participants were really involved and interested in the other people’s perceptions and feelings about the situation and people – how he or she deals with critical, or difficult incidents, forms opinions, and reaches a solution.
• There was a great deal of energy and interest in a mimicry game; Patricia had them select a card and show the feeling though their facial expression.  In addition to learning about the power of nonverbal communication, the participants recognized that they were picking up the mood expressed. Seeing someone express an emotion can evoke the same mood illustrating that humans experience a continuous transmission of emotions.

The “Bingo Emotions Game” is available in 3 different versions: adults, adolescents and children.  The session was a powerful confirmation of the power of this tool to engage a large and diverse group. They discussed how the tool could be used in a wide variety of applications to improve emotional intelligence.

Dr. Patricia Marinez Abarca President of MENTHABIL Consulting Company and is a certified EQ Trainer by Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence Network. Different occupational groups from education to business, including CEO, executives, managers, supervisors, HR professionals, teachers, school directors, psychologist, MBA students and Organizational psychology students etc. attended the congress.