Workshop on Emotional Intelligence: A Surreal Experience!

"𝒀𝒆𝒑! 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒎𝒆. 𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒃𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝑰 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏".

A week later, I reflect on this experience.

It was surreal. In many ways. I'll explain quickly and I hope it can be useful for your experience abroad as well!

The first reason is that my passion for K-dramas was born recently. I never thought I would become a fan of this genre. Finding myself in a conference room with a wonderful group of South Korean managers was surreal, a bit like the world had suddenly shrunk.

The second reason is that I decided to speak in Korean. No, I don’t know Korean. I know some expressions from various TV series. Sometimes, I watch videos from different social media teachers who explain words and idioms. At 2 AM, I found myself stammering words with strange and unfamiliar sounds.

The opportunity was too good to pass up! How do you make communication effective? By seeking and building a connection with your interlocutor and your audience.

I learned two phrases and a greeting, but that was enough to trigger applause, and the connection was immediate.

The third reason is related to expectations: do they work on #EmotionalIntelligence in South Korea? Do they learn like we do? Do they have workshops like we do? And coaching?

The goal was precisely to provide an example of what a group coaching session is. Between moments of discouragement and anxiety, I thought about this: it was a more or less new experience for everyone, and instead of focusing on the differences, I thought about what we have in common.

𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒆𝒕 𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒋𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒐𝒕𝒚𝒑𝒆𝒔.

The last reason is that when I left Italy 5 years ago, I was convinced I had left behind classroom activities, one of the most beautiful experiences both personally and professionally, filled with great growth, "blood, sweat, and tears," and a lot of satisfaction. A few months ago, I returned to the classroom: “everything in English, will I manage?!” Then, I had other opportunities. Today, this one, translated from Italian to English to Korean, is yet another big challenge.

Once again, I find myself writing to you about how the power of networking is fundamental for reclaiming your dreams and starting anew.

Networking helped me find myself in the right place with the right person to seize this opportunity. Thanks again to @SukiKim, who believed in me!

Networking helped me finalize the #workshop at a café table with Camilla Spadavecchia, Dr., who "coached" me.

Being accustomed to networking in a language that is not my own helped me put myself in the audience's shoes and to actively listen.

This week's #CoachforExpat advice: network!