7 life hacks that will help you better understand people

No, this is not about some secret intelligence techniques, not about body language, NLP or something similar. To better read the motives and moods of other people, you need to develop empathy - the ability to empathize, imbued with other people's emotions. Here are the activities that contribute to this.

1. Read fiction

American scientists David Comer Kidd and Emanuel Castano conducted an experiment. Its participants had to read a previously prepared fragment of the text for several minutes. The first group had classical literature or modern high prose, the second had fiction, and the third had non-fiction. The control group did not read anything. After that, all the subjects were given a test that determines how much they are able to empathize with other people. It turned out that those who read fiction, especially classics and high prose, had the highest rates.

Writing teacher Albert Wendland thinks the explanation is simple. Plunging into a literary text, we put ourselves in the place of the hero, let his thoughts and feelings pass through us. This means that we learn to understand and accept other people's emotions. Reading the classics, we come across more lively, complex and multifaceted characters, which is why it works best as an empathy trainer.

2. Meditate

Meditation helps to not only relieve stress and become more mindful, but also develop compassion and empathy. Scientists from Emory University (USA) conducted a small experiment. Participants practiced exercises and meditated for eight weeks according to a specially designed program. Then they were asked to count people's emotions from photographs. It turned out that more than half of the subjects after the program improved their results slightly.

It is believed that meditation blurs the boundaries between "I" and "they". Especially when it comes to meditation of loving kindness, during which a person seems to tune in to other people and tries to sincerely wish them happiness and well-being.

3. Watch TV shows

Yes, now you can say you're not just having fun sitting in front of a screen on Friday night, but developing empathy. At least experts from the University of Oklahoma have found that television dramas are very conducive to this. Participants who watched TV shows like Mad Men, The West Wing, The Good Wife, and Lost were better able to read emotions from photos than those who were shown documentaries or not shown anything.

Good acting, well-thought-out script, high-quality work of the operator - all this trains our brain to interpret different facial expressions, intonations and gestures.

4. Sing in the choir

Or start a group, because playing music together increases empathy. Scientists from Cambridge were convinced of this. They collected 52 children aged 8-11 and divided the small participants into two groups. The first was involved in various musical games and tasks. For the second, they also conducted developmental classes, but already without music. As a result, children in the first group performed much better on tests to determine emotional intelligence.

By the way, the same applies to acting. After all, this is a way to try on the feelings, behavior, facial expressions, plasticity and way of thinking of another person.

5. Meet new people

Swiss scientists believe that it also helps to pump empathy. Especially if the communication experience was positive. Therefore, it is worth talking to strangers more often, for example, in hobby clubs, traveling, at parties, professional conferences.

6. Watch others

Peer into faces. Listen carefully to how people speak. Try to analyze their facial expressions, gestures, intonation. Try to guess what mood they are in, what they are thinking. If you are observing someone close, you will even have the opportunity to know if your guesses are correct.

7. Keep a diary

It is difficult to identify other people's emotions if you are confused in your own. Therefore, it is logical to start training empathy with self-knowledge. This is a large-scale and deep work, which sometimes requires the help of a psychotherapist. But there are some things you can do yourself. For example, keep a diary in which you will describe in detail how you feel, analyze your reactions and moods.

As a result, such self-examination helps not only to throw out negative experiences and cope with stress, but also to learn how to better interact with other people, to develop leadership skills.