5.3 Emotional intelligence

The third reason why dyslexics make powerful communicators is dyslexics have high levels of emotional intelligence. The Dyslexic Thinking skill of connecting. It isn't just our knack of making complex ideas clearer that makes us strong communicators. We're also able to use our high levels of empathy and emotional intelligence to listen carefully to others and create messages that connect powerfully, too.

Dyslexics have a greater ability to sense, understand and respond to how others feel. This allows for more authentic connection with people, and can result in a deeper understanding of their stories and a greater skill in telling them. It's all part of our connecting skills. Journalist Stephanie Ruhle explains this Dyslexic Thinking skill is central to her success.

I'm a super curious person, and I think if there is something I have a lot of, it's emotional intelligence. And I can feel a person, right? I can really emotionally connect with someone. And whether it's a hard interview or a light interview, if you can connect with the person that you're interviewing, you can open them up.

I have an evening show, so I can pull in the evening news story that a reporter will lay out for the audience, and I can say to the audience ‘here's the thing that happened today,’ right? And the reporter is going to lay it out. And then I'm going to sit down with my audience and some guests, and I'm going to explain to my audience, here's why it matters and here's why it matters to you.

For many dyslexics, connecting goes beyond words. We have the ability to read body language, understand cues and sense what a person is feeling, which makes us more skilled at responding. Here's BBC wildlife presenter and cameraman Hamza Yassin to explain.

We pick up nuances. And when I say we, it's the royal we, which is for dyslexic people. I know it can be slightly different for other people, but we tend to pick up nuances. We pick up habits, behaviors, a lot quicker than other humans who are not dyslexic. And for me, it's a gift. It's an absolute gift and I want to share it with the world.

The Right Reverend and Right Honorable Dame Sarah Mullally, Archbishop of Canterbury, recognises the strengths her dyslexia brings both in her role now as the head of the Church of England and in her previous role before ordination as England's chief nursing officer.

What I recognise is that I do have the ability to empathise with people. I also have high emotional intelligence. I have the ability to look beyond the immediate to the broader sense of what's going on. And looking at that, I think those are the things that have helped me, both in my leadership within nursing but also my leadership within the church. And of course, that's some of the skills that people say and attribute to dyslexia.

She talks about the Dyslexic Thinking skill of not just listening to what's being said, but using her heightened emotional intelligence to hear what's not being said to dig deeper and respond more fully. It's a skill that many dyslexics tap into to communicate powerfully by reading body language, using their intuition and empathy, responding to all the visual stimuli in front of them, not just the words that are spoken.

The ability to listen and to empathise with people I think has helped. And certainly in a room—so at the moment in a Zoom room, so in a Zoom room—to not only hear what people are saying but to listen to what they're saying and to get behind what they're saying, helps in finding a way forward that gets a better outcome. And I think that's one of my observations about myself, is the ability to listen to the room and to better understand what is going on.

And the other wonderful thing it gives you is the ability not only to listen but to talk to people and to explain things and to empathise with them. So for example, very rarely do I ever read a speech or read a sermon, you know, because the fact is you trip up on it. So I've always memorised and spoken it, because it's much more free, which allows you then to have a greater freedom to speak to people. So you are able to speak to groups of people, to listen what they're saying and change your language so that they can better hear.

With these enhanced emotional strengths, it's no surprise that many dyslexics are drawn into careers like nursing, caring, social work, and becoming champions of the socially disadvantaged. During the COVID pandemic, the responsibility to lead England's 373,000 nurses and midwives fell to Ruth May, England's chief nursing officer. She used her Dyslexic Thinking skills of connecting to communicate key health messages to the UK.

I first noticed I was dyslexic when people with said that I was really good at listening and I was exceptionally good at questioning, because I was overcompensating for not being able to read the long, long, long documents that come with doing the job, as Sarah knows. Sarah's has been chief nursing officer for England. So during the pandemic, though, I think the strength has been my ability to connect, connect with the public when I'm wanting to give some messages, connecting with the front line, and that's... being able to live in their shoes has been a real strength that has carried me through.

Being able to listen is such a valuable component in communicating. Dyslexic actress Whoopi Goldberg is one of only twelve people in history to have won an Emmy, Grammy, Academy and Tony Award, collectively known as the EGOT. She says: “When you can't read like everyone else, you learn to listen differently. That's communication, too.” It's not just actors and actresses who use their high levels of emotional intelligence to communicate and connect powerfully with their audience. Politicians do it, too. Here's Peter Kyle, Secretary of State for Business and Trade, a member of the cabinet in the UK government, to explain how his Dyslexic Thinking helps him to do what he does.

I can definitely see where your Dyslexic Thinking skills are. Connecting the dots, being able to see the big picture, emotional intelligence, as we've touched on, but also communication skills. I know that you've talked a lot about how that's something that you really value and think is very important for who you are and how you operate as a a politician and a minister.

It's essential. It's essential to the to the role of a politician, is being able to communicate, but that goes both ways. And it's also essential to be able to listen and to sense, to understand a room. And all of those things, I think, I have excelled at.

Empathy and being able to listen is also a valuable asset in business. As Richard Branson explains, it creates better leaders and can spark the next successful business idea.

I think dyslexics are much better listeners, are much better at drawing on other people, and as a result I think they're they're better leaders. And you know, by learning from other people you're going to be able to achieve much more than thinking you know everything yourself, because there's just so many gems of ideas that you can pick up.

It's amazing what you can learn just by listening, isn't it? Here are three key takeaways from this section. One, dyslexics use their high level of emotion intelligence to listen carefully to others. Two, they're able to tap into their Dyslexic Thinking skill of connecting to read the room and hear what's not being said. And three, this helps them connect more deeply with people and communicate more authentically.