1.	You notice that a member of your group who is usually bright and cheerful has become quiet and withdrawn. How do you respond? Reason that the change in mood has nothing to do with you and that the person will probably revert to normal behaviour without any interference from you. Ask other members of the group if someone will have a word. Find an occasion to talk to the person one—to-one; voice your concerns about his or her well being and ask if there is anything you can do to help.
2.	You are at a party. A close friend who has been quiet all evening suddenly breaks down in tears. How do you respond? Go to the friend and offer ‘tea and sympathy’ away from the gaze of other people. Tell the friend to stop making such a fuss as his or her behaviour is embarrassing you in front of other people. Ignore the friend; move to another part of the room.
3.	You and the others in your group are due to give an important presentation, and you observe that one of the group who is due to take a lead role is becoming extremely agitated. How do you respond? Offer to change roles with the person concerned. Open up a conversation with the person; say that you are beginning to feel the strain of the occasion and ask how he or she is coping. Put it down to a case of ‘stage fright’ and disregard the signals you are getting.
4.	You know that it is easy to ‘wind up’ a colleague if you press the right buttons when the time is right. The time seems to be right. How do you respond? Succumb to the temptation to play to the crowd by winding up the colleague. Having read the signs, try to take action such as distracting attention away from the person concerned in an attempt to defuse the situation. Stand back and enjoy watching somebody else do the winding up for you.
5.	You have a hunch that something is troubling someone who is close to you. How do you respond? Trust your inner feelings and try to find a way of broaching the subject with the person concerned. Wait for the person to say or do something first to confirm your suspicions, and then act accordingly. Dismiss your inner feelings and do nothing on the grounds that your hunch could be wrong.
6.	Although nothing has been said exactly, you sense that for some reason you have offended a small group of your friends or colleagues. How do you respond? Think back carefully over your actions to see if you can put your finger on what it might be that you have done to upset them. Say to them that you sense that something is affecting your relationship with them and that you are sorry if it proves to be your fault. Ask if you can all talk about it. Shrug the whole thing off reasoning that it’s too late to do anything about it and it’s their problem anyway.
7.	You have been asked to pass on to a colleague an unexpected piece of bad news of a personal nature. How do you respond? Get it over with as soon as you can — find the colleague and come straight out with the bad news. Put off doing it by trying to persuade somebody else to do it for you. Find the person straight away and break the news as gently as possible, and then provide what support you can.
8.	You receive a text message inviting you and a close friend who is not with you at the time to go out for the evening. How do you respond? Send an immediate message back saying that you will give them a definite answer as soon as you have contacted your friend. Reply immediately saying that you will definitely go and that your friend may or may not be with you. Send a message back straight away saying that both you and your friend are glad to accept the invitation.