Anger, fear, happiness… there is a whole list of universal feelings we all experience. In his book, Unmasking the Face: A Guide to Recognizing Emotions From Facial Expressions, Dr. Paul Ekman demonstrates that not only do people all over the world share the same emotions, they even wear them the same on their face.
By tuning into the signals people give us about how they’re being, we can have greater empathy and guess their underlying need.
Why not practice on yourself? Next time you feel an emotional trigger, ask yourself “What need is not being met here?” Test out what difference this makes in what happens next.