Hello. This is 6 Minute English
from BBC Learning English.
I'm Sam.
And I'm Neil. In this programme,
we're discussing something we've
heard a lot about during the
pandemic - kindness. When was the
last time you did something kind
for someone else, Sam?
Hmmm, I gave my mum
flowers last week.
Ah, that was kind.
And how did it feel?
It felt good knowing
I'd made her happy.
Right! It's something that
psychologists are starting to
prove scientifically but that
most of us knew all along:
we feel just as good being
kind to someone else as when
someone is kind to us.
It reminds me of something
called a random act of kindness.
Have you heard of that, Neil?
Yes, things like helping a
stranger cross the road - small,
everyday things people do to
help others for no other reason
than to make them happy.
Yes, and one of the main
benefits of being kind is
that we feel the kindness in
ourselves. It's called 'the gift
that keeps on giving' - and it
reminds me of my quiz question.
In 2021, a global survey conducted
for the BBC's 'Kindness Test'
asked people to name their top
five random acts of kindness.
So which kind act came top?
Was it:
a) giving someone a smile?
b) giving someone a hug? or
c) giving someone your time
to just listen?
They all sound wonderful but
what I'd really like is a
nice big hug!
OK, Neil, we'll find out later
if that's the right answer.
Now, that good feeling Sam
got from giving her mum
flowers is something
psychologists have become
very interested in. During
the past decade over a
thousand academic papers
were written including
the term 'kindness'.
The author of one such
paper is Dr Dan
Campbell-Meiklejohn, senior
psychologist at the
University of Sussex, and
researcher for the
BBC's Kindness Test.
Here is Dr Campbell-Meiklejohn
discussing his findings with
BBC World Service programme,
Health Check.
What we know from the science
is, and what can seem
counter-intuitive because
giving can cost something of
ourselves, is that we can
experience a sense of reward
when we are kind to others...
so like, when we eat a yummy
food or have a pleasant surprise,
the parts of our brain that help
us remember these nice
experiences and motivated us to
do them again and again - they
become active when we're kind.
And we call this feeling
a warm glow.
Usually giving something away,
money for example, means we
no longer possess it. But
kindness is different: both
the giver of kindness and
the receiver experience what
Dr Campbell-Meiklejohn calls
a warm glow - an inner
feeling of happiness.
Nevertheless, for some people
giving something away equals
losing it, so for them being
kind seems counter-intuitive -
opposite to the way you expect
things should happen.
But on a chemical level the
brain doesn't agree! For
our brain, being kind feels
as good as any other
pleasurable activity, for
example eating something
yummy - something delicious
which tastes good.
OK, Sam, I can see that
being kind is great in my
personal life. But what about
the ruthless world of
business or politics - surely
there's no place for
kindness there?
It's true that in many countries
politics involves fierce debate
and criticism of anyone who
disagrees with you. But there
are those who believe it
doesn't have to be like that.
Jennifer Nagel for one. She's
co-director of a movement
called Compassion in Politics
and author of the book, We,
written with the actor
Gillian Anderson.
Listen as Jennifer explains
her vision to BBC World Service
programme, Health Check.
Compassionate leadership leads
to inclusive, cooperative
outcomes which lead to fairer
societies, lower crime rates,
higher levels of health and
wellbeing. And yet we have
this idea that compassion
somehow doesn't belong, that
it can be dismissed in the
same way as women have been
dismissed as something fluffy
and a nice idea but not
really practical. But in fact,
the science behind compassion
is that it actually takes
courage to act with compassion.
Jennifer wants politics to
be based on compassion - a
strong feeling of empathy
with the suffering of others
and a wish to help them.
She says kindness is sometimes
dismissed as fluffy - soft
and woolly, something not
considered serious or
important. But in fact,
being compassionate is not
easy and takes courage.
Jennifer's is a strong
voice for a kinder, more
compassionate society.
But I bet even she could
use a random act of kindness
now and again... maybe a hug?
Ah that's right, Neil, a hug
was one of the top five
random acts of kindness I
asked about in my quiz
question, along with
smiling and listening.
But which came out on top?
I said it was b) giving
someone a hug.
So, was I right?
Giving a hug was... the
wrong answer, I'm afraid.
The number one random act
of kindness was a) giving
a smile. But don't worry,
Neil - I have a big hug
waiting for you here!
Ah, thanks, Sam, that's so
kind! OK, let's recap the
vocabulary from this
discussion about random
acts of kindness - small
things people do to be
kind to others.
Something counter-intuitive
doesn't happen in the
way you expect it to.
Yummy means delicious
or tasting very good.
A warm glow describes the
pleasant inner feeling of
happiness at doing
something kind.
Compassion is a feeling of
sympathy for the suffering
of others and a wish
to help them.
And finally, something
fluffy is soft and woolly,
not considered serious
or important.
Our six minutes are up,
but if you've enjoyed this
programme, why not go out
and perform your own random
act of kindness.
Goodbye for now!
Bye!