7 Emotional Intelligence Training Activities

Emotional intelligence activities are most useful when they help people handle real situations at work. A good exercise gives your team something to practise, discuss and use again after the session.

These seven activities focus on self-awareness, communication and teamwork. Choose one that addresses a specific challenge, then agree how you will follow up.

Start with a clear outcome

Decide what you want to change before choosing an activity.

That could mean raising disagreements during meetings, handling feedback more calmly or giving quieter colleagues space to contribute.

Choose something you can observe. Check progress over the following weeks and review it again after three months.

1. Keep a trigger log

Develops: self-awareness and impulse control.
Time: 10-minute briefing, two weeks of reflection and a 30-minute debrief.

Ask people to record moments when they notice a strong reaction at work:

What happened.
What they felt.
How they responded.

Keep the logs private. In the debrief, invite people to share patterns they are comfortable discussing, without naming colleagues.

Recognising recurring triggers helps people prepare a more considered response.

2. Practise a pause

Develops: impulse control and stress management.
Time: 15 minutes to introduce, then ongoing practice.

Use a familiar scenario, such as an unexpected deadline change. Ask people to notice their physical reaction, name the emotion silently and pause before responding.

Practise in pairs using a low-stakes example. The aim is to create enough space to choose a useful response.

There is no fixed time in which an emotion must pass. Focus on responding deliberately rather than counting down.

3. Rewrite a difficult message

Develops: communication and interpersonal skills.
Time: 45 minutes.

Use four or five anonymised emails or messages, shared with permission, where the wording caused confusion or friction. Ask pairs to rewrite them.

Compare the versions:

Which is clearer?
Which could sound dismissive?
What would help the recipient understand what is needed?

Practise any communication tools your team already uses, and agree one principle to apply to future messages.

4. Explore a stakeholder’s perspective

Develops: empathy and reality testing.
Time: 60 minutes.

Choose a challenging working relationship. Map four areas:

What the stakeholder says.
What they do.
What they may be thinking.
What they may be feeling.

Mark thoughts and feelings as assumptions, then discuss how to check them through conversation.

Finish by agreeing a constructive next step. Understanding someone’s perspective should help you address the issue.

5. Rehearse a difficult conversation

Develops: assertiveness, emotional expression and stress tolerance.
Time: 90 minutes.

Work in groups of three: speaker, other party and observer. Choose an appropriate conversation and rehearse its opening for two minutes.

The observer gives feedback on whether the opening is clear, respectful and likely to encourage discussion. Repeat it using that feedback.

Keep the focus on describing the issue and inviting a response, without blame.

6. Review a decision

Develops: reality testing and problem-solving.
Time: 60 minutes.

Choose a past decision the team can discuss constructively. Separate what was known, what was assumed and what people felt at the time.

Ask whether concerns about relationships, reputation or confrontation influenced the choice.

Agree one change to the next decision-making discussion, such as checking assumptions before committing.

7. Review your team’s unwritten rules

Develops: collaboration and shared responsibility.
Time: 90 minutes.

Ask the team to describe what happens in practice when someone disagrees, gives feedback or makes a mistake.

Examples might include saving objections until after a meeting or avoiding challenges to senior colleagues.

Choose one unhelpful pattern and agree a specific alternative, with a date to review it.

This exercise can surface sensitive issues. Use an experienced facilitator where trust is low or conflict is unresolved.

Balance empathy with clear expectations

Empathy helps people understand one another, but effective working relationships also need assertiveness and honest feedback.

A manager can understand why someone is struggling while still discussing missed commitments. Avoiding that conversation may leave both the person and the team without the support they need.

When using empathy mapping, check that the exercise leads to a useful conversation or action. It should not become another reason to postpone one.

Make the learning stick

A useful session is a starting point. What happens afterwards determines whether the team works differently.

Follow up. Agree one action, who will take it and when the team will review progress.
Respect boundaries. Make sharing optional and plan how to handle sensitive disclosures privately, through the appropriate support channels.
Set the tone. Ask senior colleagues to listen, acknowledge their own learning and avoid pressuring others to disclose personal experiences.
Check the outcome. Ask what has changed at work, as well as whether people enjoyed the activity.

Internal facilitators can lead suitable activities when they have the skills to manage the discussion. More sensitive work needs experience in emotional intelligence, group dynamics and handling conflict.

When to bring in an expert

Consider specialist support when:

Repeated sessions have produced little change and the team needs a clearer baseline, follow-up or programme design.
The main issue involves one person or relationship and may need individual assessment and coaching.
An otherwise capable team struggles to collaborate, or discussions repeatedly become defensive.

Our companion articles explain how to choose a programme and build the business case: The Benefits of Emotional Intelligence Training: What the Evidence Shows and What Should Emotional Intelligence Training Include?

Summit’s Emotionally Intelligent Teamwork programme supports whole teams. Emotional Intelligence for Managers combines two days of learning with follow-up resources, while the EQ-i 2.0 can help establish an assessment baseline.

For a smaller starting point, explore our 30-day quick-start plan for managers.

Talk to Summit about your team’s needs

- Seven Emotional Intelligence Activities for Your Team

Seven Emotional Intelligence Activities for Your Team