Poor Emotional Skills — Module MOD-M5 | You Want More
A facilitator leading a workshop on emotional skills with engaged male students at their laptops

Poor Emotional Skills

Many young men recognise stress, anxiety and difficult emotions but lack practical skills for understanding, regulating and communicating them effectively.

The Problem

Learning what to do with what you feel

Many young men grow up learning how to manage problems, compete, perform and push through difficulty.

They receive far less guidance on understanding and communicating their emotional experiences. They may recognise that they are stressed, angry, anxious, frustrated or overwhelmed without having the language or practical skills to understand what is happening internally or respond constructively.

How It's Delivered

Two ways to bring this to your students

Option 1

An Engaging Presentation

30 min + 10 min Q&A

Using engaging visuals, relatable scenarios and evidence-informed research, this presentation introduces students to the foundations of emotional intelligence — exploring how emotions influence thoughts, behaviour, decision-making and relationships.

Students learn why emotional strength is not about suppressing difficult feelings, but developing the ability to recognise, regulate and communicate them effectively.

Students leave with a clearer understanding that emotional skills are learnable capabilities rather than fixed personality traits, along with practical strategies for responding rather than reacting.

Option 2

Interactive Tutorial & Discussion

60–120 min

Students participate in a practical, discussion-based workshop that helps them develop greater awareness of their emotional experiences and learn how to respond to them more effectively.

Through guided reflection, individual activities and realistic scenarios, students identify common emotional triggers and explore the difference between experiencing an emotion and choosing how to respond to it.

Students practise expressing difficult emotions without aggression or withdrawal, listening and responding to others, and using emotional regulation to strengthen both wellbeing and relationships.

Interactive Learning Tools

Built into Option 2

Two purpose-built tools help students understand what they're feeling and communicate it effectively.

Advancing Emotional Intelligence

Students develop greater awareness of their emotions and learn practical strategies for recognising, understanding and regulating them — developing empathy and resilience so they respond thoughtfully rather than being controlled by difficult emotions.

Relationship Builder

Students learn how emotional skills influence the quality of their friendships, family relationships and romantic relationships — practising communication, active listening and managing conflict while building trust.

Why These Tools?

It's not that they don't feel

Poor emotional skills are rarely about not having emotions. More often, young men have not been given enough practical opportunities to understand what they are experiencing or learn how to communicate it effectively. These two tools help students answer two essential questions:

How do I understand and manage what I'm feeling?

How do I communicate my emotions and connect with others?

"Emotional strength is not about never feeling. It's about learning what to do with what you feel."

The Underlying Idea

The emotional process

Together, these tools give students a practical, evidence-informed framework for developing emotional awareness, regulation and communication — so emotional vulnerability is never mistaken for weakness, and difficult emotions no longer control their behaviour.

1. NOTICE

Notice

Identify what you are feeling

2. UNDERSTAND

Understand

Name it and understand why

3. REGULATE

Regulate

Manage it in healthy ways

4. COMMUNICATE

Communicate

Express it clearly and respectfully

Bring This Module to Your School

Ready to give your students real emotional tools, not just advice?

This module can be delivered as a standalone 30-minute talk or a full interactive workshop — customised to suit your timetable and year group.

© You Want More — talks & workshops for schools, universities and youth organisations.  |  YOUR-EMAIL-HERE