Emotional Intelligence

About

Emotional intelligence matters more than ever for professionals across all fields. We are living in times where you won't get away with just being good at the substance of your work. Emotional Intelligence is the key to understanding your own emotions and those of the people around you. When you harness this awareness and skill, it doesn’t just boost your effectiveness—it enriches your relationships and brings more meaning and satisfaction to your work.

In this interactive course, you’ll develop both your verbal and non-verbal communication skills. Emotionally intelligent professionals listen closely, express themselves clearly, and adapt their style to fit different people and situations.

Through thoughtful exercises, feedback, and personal reflection, you’ll grow as a leader who inspires, motivates, and guides others by tuning into emotional cues. Also, in times of polarization, the ability to find common ground is more important than ever.

And there’s a bonus—you’ll also increase your well-being and job satisfaction. Managing relationships with care and navigating challenges mindfully creates a more positive experience at work and beyond.

Emotional intelligence is not fixed, and people can significantly increase it with focused practice and training over time. Large meta-analyses and randomized studies indicate that emotional intelligence training has a moderate, positive, and lasting impact on EI scores across different professions.

What you’ll learn:
This course is designed to help you deepen your connection skills. You’ll explore how to:

Experience more connection and empathy with others
Listen better to others and understand them more deeply
Understand and express your needs and desires clearly
Manage emotions and reactions or yourself and others effectively
Recognize what triggers your feelings
Have meaningful, productive feedback conversations
Stay centered during tough conversations
Communicate honestly and responsibly —even during conflict
Set clear boundaries with clarity and calmness
In general two thirds of participants are professionals and one thirds are students.

Our approach
We blend trusted methods into hands-on exercises that let you discover what works best for you—all in a supportive, relaxed setting. Here’s a glimpse of the tools we use:

Non-Violent Communication helps you speak honestly while keeping connections strong.
Deep Democracy invites every voice to be heard, especially the quieter ones.
Embodied Leadership teaches you to use your body and intuition to stay grounded and wise.
Systemic Work shows you patterns in groups and relationships, helping you navigate complex emotions.
Constellation and spatial work allows to access unconscious feelings and needs and understand the interdependence of a system.
Theory U guides you through a process of sensing the present moment deeply, connecting to your inner knowing, and stepping into fresh, creative action.
How we work:
This course will not have long lectures or endless presentations. This isn’t a traditional course: it’s an experience. There will be brief elements of theory, lots of practice, meaningful feedback, and deep self-reflection. You won’t just use your head—you’ll tap into your feelings, intuition, and embodied wisdom. Throughout, you’ll have space to bring in your authentic self and real-life challenges, both from work as well as your private life.

Last year’s UU Summerschools by Jan Reinder and Henrik received a 9 out of 10 score by more than 50 participants

Course leader

Lauren Gould

Target group

Professionals and master's students

Fee info