3/2: People Skills

BHQ site: (www.brainhq.com)

This week we will be learning about People (or interpersonal) Skills and the People Skills category of exercises that help us hone our social skills. If you haven’t had a chance to try any exercises in this category yet, after reading the handout, this might be a good time to try a few. You will understand a lot more about the exercises after reading the lesson.

In our readings this week, we learn about people skills. What makes some people so much easier to get along with than others? Are there ways that you can improve your own people skills? (Of course, or we wouldn't bring it up!). Our lessons have lots of ideas, from a questionnaire which will help you determine your own people skills, some people skills that successful people have in the workplace, some practical ways to improve your interpersonal skills, and ideas for the emotionally sensitive person on improving social skills, and more. While reading the lesson, take a few moments to do the questionnaire on interpersonal skills. It will give you an understanding of your own skills, and what type of things you can do to improve. You DO NOT need to complete any of the personal information at the end, just hit submit. Also, your lesson describes some things that you can do for homework. The questionnaire is for your own enlightenment, you do not need to send us anything unless you wish to, but do spend some time thinking about your answers. We can discuss them on our Zoom session on Wednesday. You can read and view the interactive lesson here , or you can download and read the printable handout here. For another excellent visual review of the handout view the Power Point Presentation here.

Then: Take the quiz

Assignment: This week’s lesson is an especially important one to making positive changes in your life (which also contribute to a healthier brain). In the lesson, and/or on pages 5 and 6 of the handout, Mary gives you three very simple assignments to help drive home the People Skills message. Please take the time this week to complete as many of them as possible and reply to Mary (mburns@sdccd.edu) with your results, or plan to share with us at our Wednesday evening Zoom session (details below). This is an excellent way to apply and analyze your own understanding of the subject.

On the BrainHQ Site: The BHQ People Skills exercises are designed to help us improve a variety of different aspects of interpersonal skills, like social cognition, auditory and visual processing, and attention. Some of the exercises focus on listening skills, by improving our concentration and “active listening”. Others (like Face to Face) help to improve our visual perception and recognition skills, so we can evaluate a social situation, expression or event more accurately and respond/react more appropriately. All of the exercises have been designed to improve our social self-confidence and our memory for auditory and visual details, which lead to happier, more satisfying social experiences. There is even a Personal Training Focus on the BHQ website you can choose to target your social skills. Just click here to try it: Skills for Social Situations Focus.

Read: You can read more about the people skills exercises and how they can help improve your social skills, by clicking here: Exercises and scrolling down to the People Skills Category of exercises (the orange icons). Or click on the exercise of your choice below, for a version that also includes a video demonstration of each exercise. Or click on the names of the exercises below.

Recommended Reading: The questionnaire on interpersonal skills in Mary’s handout told us that “developing a better awareness of emotions, and understanding why you and others behave in certain ways will enhance your interpersonal skills.” If you would like to learn more about understanding your own and other’s emotions there is a very interesting and informative book on the subject, it’s called Your Brain at Work, by David Rock. This book gives us insight into relationships and explains why we react to things/people the way we do. It’s all based on our brain’s reactions to the people and the world around us.

Zoom Session: We will be having our online Zoom session this week, on Wednesday evening, March 4th, from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. In the first half-hour we will answer questions about the exercises or BHQ website. Then, at 7:00 we will talk about the weekly lesson, share BHQ experiences, and review the Power Point presentations. We will be live at 6:30 for individual questions or to demonstrate, live, any exercise you may have questions about.

Zoom Instructions: Just follow the instructions on the Home Page or click here to view a video that will help you.

If you are a returning student to Zoom, you can click here for a direct link to zoom.

Here’s our schedule of events:

6:30-7:00: For ALL! Q&A time about any of the BHQ exercises or navigating the BHQ or class websites.

7:00-7:30: We will focus on the Weekly Basics Lesson about People Skills.

7:30–8:00: We will focus on the Weekly Topics Lesson – Change Distorted Thinking (this is fascinating!)

First time on Zoom? Just follow the instructions on this Home Page to learn how. Returning students click here to connect directly.

If it’s your first time participating in a Zoom session, you can try it by getting on the site early to see how easy it is to get it set up. We begin our first BHQ Lesson at 7:00, so try getting on at about 6:30-6:45 and call Pat at 619-818-3953 if you have any trouble. You can participate by video and audio, or just listen in by phone. Please let us know if you need help!

Enjoy the lessons, and have a brain-healthy week.

Need help? Contact us at:

Pat Mosteller (pmostell@sdccd.edu) Cell 619-818-3953 - Online classes

Mary Burns (mburns@sdccd.edu) - Online classes

Debbie Flores (dsflores@sdccd.edu) - Cell 619-608-9001 --Online classes & Wednesday AM and PM classes at the Kroc Center

Janet Blair ( blusdbits@gmail.com ) - St Pauls Plaza. Contact for Support and Lesson Review

Yael Lorberfeld (ylorberfeld@sdccd.edu) . Mondays at the Kroc Center, Wednesdays at the College Ave Senior Center (Temple Emanu-El), and Friday mornings at the La Jolla JCC.

Marilyn Kessler (marilynk@ifssd.org) - Mondays at the College Ave Senior Center (Temple Emanu-El)