Chris Mance II - Mental Skills Coach

Relationship management is the fourth and final domain of emotional intelligence. It includes the ability to resolve conflicts, inspire and influence others, and negotiate win win solutions. Relationship management is critical for both leadership and being a good role player on a team. As you may have noticed, the fundamental skill involved is communication.

Teaching a child how to be a good communicator is definitely an art and not a science. There is no step by step process for teaching a child how to become a good communicator. For some children it’s an innate talent, for others it’s an innate weakness. Either way, it’s possible to become a better communicator through practice, experience, and sheer will power.

Below are 3 tips to help your child build the communication skills necessary to become more emotionally intelligent.

3 Tips for Building a Child’s Communication Skills for Relationship Management

1. Play Strategy Board Games as a Family: The classic family board game that almost all kids love is Monopoly. Monopoly is a great example of a family game almost any child can play and have fun with learning to negotiate, influence, and problem solve. While Monopoly is a great starter game for casual board game families, there are clearly many other options that require more complex strategic thinking. Some ideas include Risk, Sequence, Civilization, and Settlers of Catan.
2. Read to Your Child and Let Them Read to You: This is a common recommendation that all parents hear all the time. However, I would be remiss if I didn’t list it. The only thing I can add to what you probably already know is to try reading more non-fiction with your children. Try reading to them stories of the many historic military and political negotiations that shaped history. Find biographies of famous people that could serve as role models and take turns reading chapters to each other. Finally, subscribe to a magazine that targets teens or kids and have your kids tell you about the articles they find interesting.
3. Listen to Talk Radio and Podcast Together: If you have a daily commute with your kids, try mixing in talk radio and podcast. It doesn’t matter if it’s political, business, local news, or something lighter like entertainment or sports. What’s important is that you listen for a while, then turn it off and ask your child opened ended questions that encourage them to communicate an opinion.