Playing with emotions

Published: Monday, Nov 28, 2005

We are taught to control them. Now, we must manage emotions. And the interviewers should be convinced that we do so constructively

Addressing the students, The Head of the Department of Management studies Dr. P. S. Subbarao pointed out that good communication skills clubbed with commitment will give confidence.

Delivering a seminar after the launch on communication skills, Director of CTC Communications urged students to aim high. He advised students and club members to take up E-Plus activity seriously.

Imagine an interview scene where an applicant walks in and finds the panelists munching biscuits and sipping tea. As soon as the applicant approaches the table one of them asks him or her to sit down and offers biscuits. Immediately a thought would cross the applicants mind `should I take the biscuits or not?'In another scene, as soon as the candidate enters the interview room he or she finds the panelists grim-faced and without a chair in front of the table. A thought flies across the candidate's mind, `should I stand and face the interview or should I ask for a chair?'

Dicey situation

In both the cases the applicant senses butterflies fluttering in the stomach. The mind that's already worked up with the interview phobia goes blank and the relationship with the senses gets cut off. This is a common practice in interviews conducted by the IIMs. Candidates find innumerable such settings ranging from downright casual to outright formal. They get confused even before the first question. Any idea what the purpose is?

Real life dealings

According to Mr. A.S. Prasad of CTC Communication, most people think that group discussions (GD) and interviews are staged to assess the IQ (intelligence quotient) level of the candidates. "People who pass CAT (common admission test) are considered intelligent.

What is assessed in GDs and interviews is the ability to manage real life situations. And that ability sets the winners apart.

This could be treated as the benchmark for all GDs and interviews," he says.According to him, the psychological factor that comes to play in such a situation is the emotional intelligence or EQ (Emotional quotient).

"There was a time when there was no place for emotions in business. Now, no emotions means, no business, and that is what we call relationship management.

The new yardstick for success is not intelligence but the ability to manage and understand emotions not only your own but also of the others," says Mr. Prasad.

Defining emotions

What exactly are emotions? "To understand emotions one should put the question to oneself to get the answer. Do we drink water when we 'feel' thirsty or when we 'think' we are thirsty? We are spurred into action not when we think we should do it, but when we feel strongly about it and that is emotion. Emotions are the most powerful resources that a man possesses and successful are the ones who can harness and use it according to the situations," he says.He states the trick lies in managing emotions, not suppressing them. "In the Indian context, ever since our childhood we have been conditioned to control our emotions but the time has come not only to manage it but use it to our benefit.''

How to manage

The first step is to recognise and accept that they exist, the second step is to categorise them under negative and positive heads and finally to acknowledge the fact that there is nothing wrong with negative emotions like anger, fear and frustration and work out a strategy to channelise them constructively. According to Mr. Prasad there are two ways to enhance the emotional quotient. "One is to indulge in some group activities like dancing, aerobics and team games, and the other is to do some breathing exercises like pranayama. The idea is to get hold of the five senses," he says.

Back