Quick bits
When you’re struggling to understand how a friend is feeling after she comes to you for support (Angry? Disappointed?), concentrate less on her facial expressions and more on listening to her tone and word choice. When a Yale University scientist analyzed more than 1,800 conversations, he found that those who focused on what they heard (the speaker’s emotional inflection and phrasing) pinpointed feelings more accurately than those who focused on what they saw (body language). The reason: Our face can mask our feelings, but listening attentively eliminates distracting red herrings.