How to express your emotions: 8 tips
Virtually no interaction between human beings would make sense if we could not express our emotions. The most important thing in a dialogue, whether in words or without words, is to show desires, intentions, needs and, in general, our way of living emotions. However, doing it the right way is not easy. There are those who do it naturally without needing to think too much about it, but for others it is more complicated.
In this article we will see a series of tips about how to express emotions in a proper way in our personal relationships from day to day.
- Related article: "The 8 types of emotions (classification and description)"
How to express emotions in 8 steps
Showing what we feel is not only necessary to connect emotionally with other people. In addition, it is therapeutic, necessary. It is complicated to live keeping what we feel , especially if it has to do with experiences with a strong emotional charge.
But where there are conversations, there are also certain dynamics of self-censorship. The fear of what they will say, to give a bad image ... All this makes it not easy to open up to others . Bearing this in mind, expressing feelings is not easy, since it implies showing our most personal and, at times, even intimate side.
However, virtue is in equilibrium, and there is always a way of keeping certain topics too intimate to be shared in any way and expressing what can be revealed, without letting misunderstandings arise. So, let's look at several tips on how to express emotions when relating to others.
1. Map your feelings
It is impossible to express emotion if you do not have a rough idea about what that feeling is . For this reason, it is important to stop and reflect first or in the best possible way in which words can be adjusted to that experience.
So, if necessary, write down on a sheet of paper how you feel, in the most structured way possible. Of course, do not obsess about accuracy, because in the end feelings can never be completely reflected by language: even resorting to metaphors, there will always be facets of them that can not be communicated. Try that the most important thing is translated into words.
This step is important especially at the beginning, not only because of the lack of practice that exists in this phase. Also, it is because if you do not go through this phase, it's easy for us to get stuck , and these situations are usually so unpleasant that they are capable of making us discouraged and that we stop trying to continue making progress in this sense.
2. Do not expect too much
This advice is derived from the previous one. Do not expect too much believing that the passage of time will give you tools to express yourself better. That alone will make you constantly postpone the task of expressing yourself, and Never leave your comfort zone .
- Maybe you're interested: "How to get out of your comfort zone? 7 keys to achieve it"
3. Choose the time and place well
The context also has communicative power. It is not the same to open up to someone during the course of a university class, than in ** a quiet place without noise **. Therefore, look for a context that adapts to the content you want to convey and that does not lead to confusion.
4. Determine the purpose
What is the purpose you are looking for when expressing what you feel? ¿You just want to vent, or make sure that the other person understands everything you say and help you solve a problem? From this information, it will be easier for you to adapt to the following tips according to your needs.
5. Make sure you do not rely on abstractions alone
To express feelings, abstract concepts must be used, such as "helplessness" or "fear", but it is important to complement this with other content that refers to more concrete and easy to identify elements. That's why it's good use examples from past concrete experiences that give way to a description of objective facts. In this way, the other person will not be lost.
6. Create a narration
Do not limit yourself to describing what you feel in a static way, as if those emotions and feelings were something static. If you show its evolution over time, everything will be more understandable and the other person will be able to identify better with you. Explain why you feel this way and how your emotions emerged.
7. Worry about knowing if you understand
Give the other person the opportunity to ask you if they do not understand something, put yourself in their place, change the formulation of your sentences if you are using unknown references for your interlocutor or interlocutor ... In short, avoid that this experience is a monologue.
8Learn from your mistakes
Human relationships are always imperfect, and that's why there is always something to improve . Every time you decide to express your feelings, be sure to mentally review what happened, and take note of your mistakes to correct them and learn from them. Practice and repetition will lead you to improve in this type of skills, as it happens in the rest.
