How To Get Better At Understanding Other People’s Feelings And Thoughts?

Have you ever tried to put yourself in someone else's shoes in a particular situation? Have you tried to get a sense of how they feel or think about the situation from their point of view?

Everyone has a pressing desire to have the talent or extraordinary ability to read other people's minds, but science has advanced enough that you can continue to have that ability.

Understanding other people's emotions and reading their mindset is one of the preeminent emotional intelligence skills that has engaged many psychologists, doctors, employers, human resources trainers, and others everywhere. It is a type of emotional intelligence that includes the ability to observe and read body language that reflects the emotions of others and the ability to distinguish between them. Emotions are mirrors that reflect a person's inner feelings. So, if you want to know how to acquire and develop this skill, continue reading this article.

Why understanding other people’s feelings and thoughts really matters?

It is important to know that body movements show what the mind is thinking and the tongue cannot say. These movements are visible signs of what the individual wants to hide. Having a talent for reading other people's feelings and emotions and interpreting their thoughts based on body language interpretation means having:

1. One of the most important social, professional, and academic success skills.
2.   The ability to adapt to social and practical environments and be flexible.
3. Mental health because these skills remain with the individual and and carry over into behavior and practice.
4. Empathy, sense, and help when needed.

How do we understand other people’s thoughts and feelings?

1. Why do you want to understand others' thoughts?

The first step in understanding the feelings and thoughts of another person is to define your goals and your relationship with them. The more important and deeper the connection you have, the more you want to understand it, and the closer you are to it, and the more you know about it, the more you get it right. Our mind here is more selective in interpretation and analysis. For example, the manager is more interested in explaining and understanding what the client thinks than explaining the behavior of the office manager, and a wife is more interested in explaining the mind of her husband than the mind of her own doctor.

Also, while we may not be able to work with extraordinary people like clergy or the highly charismatic people we are influenced by, it is the greatest of all our attempts to understand others to make it easier to work with them to achieve their desired goals .and live a better, more prosperous life.

2. Find the other person's interests:

An individual's interests represent the window of their life through which the depth of their spirit can be reached. Talk about what they like and what they do by doing research and finding out what they like in politics, society, economics, culture, art, and other areas.

3. Put yourself in the other’s shoes:

It's important to imagine yourself in the other person’s place in order to analyze the reasons behind their acts. Your knowledge of the meaning and the aspects of the situation is evidence of your success in understanding the other person.

4. Analyzing body language:

Body language is the movement of a person using the body organs, such as "hands, feet, facial expressions, voice tones" and other movements that are semantic forms of the person's truth. The science of body language analysis allows us to interpret the emotions emanating from other people. It is based on the immediate interpretation of small unconscious, involuntary movements at the level of body organs. This science’s motto is "the body speaks," and each organ has its own signals. It is an established science. For example, you can focus on:

Eyes:

Eyes don't lie. Your eye signals are often honest and reflect the truth of the other person. When a person is feeling happy, you will notice the dilation of the eyes' pupils. When they lie and say the opposite of what they intend, they look to the left, and when they tell the truth, they look to the right. When the person moves their eyes side to side, it's a sign they are lost and do not know exactly what they want, but when they look away from you, they try to focus on doing their best.

Head gestures:

When the head does not move while talking, it is proof of the person’s strength, but if they drop away from you, it means we are talking to a shy person who lacks self-confidence, but if the person’s head is more inclined in all directions, shaking with approval movements, it is proof that they are cheerful and emotional. Also, putting their hand on the forehead is proof that they want to make you think that they are interested in searching for what you want from them. And when the person scratches their nose, it reflects a desire to relax, a feeling of calm, but holding the nose with both hands is a sign of feeling of being the focus and the center of attention.

Mouth gestures:

When you are afraid of not feeling comfortable, the individual will bite on the bottom lip. When yawning or sneezing, the covering of the mouth is proof that the person is polite, and the covering of the mouth when hearing others' words is a sign of the person's fear of what is being said. The fact that the fingers of the hand are divided between the mouth is a sign of disapproval of speech, but they want to listen to the end of speech. Either folding the fingers of the hand or putting them in the mouth is a sign of fear, and smiling reflects happiness and contentment with what is going on, but the concentration is necessary, it is representative, and it is true.

Finger movements:

Joint cracking or rubbing of fingers is an indication of the tension and anxiety that one has and tries to hide. At the same time, the entanglement of hands is a sign of focusing on something they like, as the forefinger on the cheek points to being interested in the other. Placing the forefinger finger in the mouth proves one's desire to say an opinion but is hesitant. The placement of a thumb is evidence of an intention to object to an order. Folding the index down the chin means there is a desire to take advantage of the status and seize opportunities while placing the index finger between the nose and mouth is a sign of discomfort with the way you’re treated, and placing the hand on the chest means that something is starting to worry you. Continually scratching your neck means getting upset by the situation and wanting to withdraw.

Sitting style:

Like bending forward or bending the back, or placing your shoulder back, for example, sitting erect in the chair and clasping hands with the two legs slightly apart is evidence of balance. While a feminine sitting style involves the two legs being put closely together and hands being put aside is evidence of politeness and the feminine style.

5. The physical outlook:

In other words, the external looks that include "dress, hair, make-up, colors" and others is a guide to give your opinion of the other. The elegant person in a place indicates their great interest and desire to prove their presence and to seek attention. Classic clothing is proof that the person is a fan of routine and resists change.

6. Listening effectively:

Listening is the most important communication skill. You need to be a good listener for every word from the other person, whatever the conversation is if you want to understand the other and know how they express themselves, as well as to clarify misconceptions.

7. Having dialog skills:

Direct your questions so that you don't focus as much on the story as on the feelings of the other, use the statements that indicate your unity with the other and that what affects them affects you as well, so by doing this, you can spot the truth of the other and predict their behavior in other situations.

8. Inform yourself of the subject:

Choose books that explain what feelings, emotions, and modes of thinking are and how we distinguish them, attend courses on body language, watch television production and how actors express their personality through certain movements, and try to monitor those movements and emotions to gain analytical skills.

9. Being sympathetic:

Turn your understanding of others' feelings into sympathy to help them, ask if they need something or how you can help them. The other person may be too afraid to ask for help. What do you want others to do to be better off if you are in their place?  You should keep asking yourself this kind of question.

10. Play games that increase your ability to analyze and interpret faces with your friends, such as:

• Reading the mind through the eyes: This method was developed by the British scientist "Simon Baron-Cohen." The participants only analyze the images that show the eyes without putting the whole face.
• Face-making game: By making cards that express different emotions and by each participant trying to recognize the emotions on that card.

11. Know the tests and standards of personality measurement and how they work, and the most famous of these measures are:

1. DiSC test: This is a behavior assessment tool based on four different personality traits - Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness.
2. Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator matrix: The test measures human contradictions, such as if the individual introverted or extroverted. Do they make decisions according to their feelings or thinking?
3. " Roger Brickman " approach to studying motives behind individual behavior.
4. California Psychological List: Used in business environments.

In Conclusion:

Sensing the feelings of others and explaining their way of thinking is one of the essential skills that Man can possess, for the facial expressions that humans emit are the same in all cultures "happiness, sadness, anxiety, tension, fear, anger and so on." So, you can recognize each other's feelings by looking at their face, as the eye is the soul's mirror.