The Most Popular Class at Stanford (It’s Not What You Think)

💌 The Wonder Years — Issue from September 21, 2025

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At Stanford’s Graduate School of Business—the place where tomorrow’s CEOs, investors, and innovators are trained—the most famous class isn’t on venture capital, data science, or corporate strategy.

It’s called Interpersonal Dynamics. Students call it “Touchy-Feely.”

In this class, 12 MBA students sit in a circle and practice:

• Saying how they really feel.
• Giving honest feedback.
• Hearing things they’d rather not hear.
• Navigating conflict without blowing up or shutting down.

It’s messy, emotional, and sometimes uncomfortable. But alumni say it’s the most transformational thing they do in business school.

These are already some of the smartest, most capable young adults on the planet. Yet what they’re missing—and what Stanford knows they’ll need most—is emotional intelligence.

Why This Matters Even More in the Age of AI

Machines are already doing what used to make us impressive. AI can crunch numbers faster, write cleaner emails, even generate creative ideas.

But AI can’t look a teammate in the eye and say:

“I know you’re frustrated—let’s figure this out together.”

It can’t sit with discomfort, build trust, or inspire someone to follow a vision.

That’s why Stanford MBAs are paying six figures to learn skills our kids could start practicing right now. Because in a world where AI handles the knowledge, human connection is the real differentiator.

How to Bring Stanford’s Most Popular Class to Your Dinner Table

The good news? You don’t need an MBA or a six-figure tuition bill. You can bring Touchy-Feely to your dinner table. Here are 3 exercises Touchy-Feely exercises you can do with your kids at home:

1. The Emotion Name Game

At dinner, everyone says one word for how they feel.
Push for real words: frustrated, proud, anxious—not just “fine.”
👉 Why? Kids learn it’s safe to say what’s really going on inside.

2. Two Truths and a Feedback

Two things you love about someone, one thing you’d like them to do differently.
Example: “I love how you helped me today. I admire your creativity. I wish you’d stop leaving socks in the kitchen.”
👉 Why? Kids practice giving and receiving feedback without drama.

3. Conflict Replay

When siblings fight, don’t just referee. Once they’ve cooled off, ask each to retell the fight from the other’s perspective.
👉 Why? It forces empathy. And it’s hilarious when your 8-year-old imitates their brother’s whiny voice.

The Parent Takeaway

If Stanford MBAs need “Touchy-Feely” to survive adulthood, our kids definitely do too.

Teach them early that emotions aren’t scary, feedback isn’t fatal, and empathy isn’t weakness. Those are the skills that make leaders worth following.

And in the age of AI, when machines can calculate faster, write cleaner, and even out-strategize us, what will set our children apart is not what they know, but how they connect.

Forget just building gifted brains. Let’s raise gifted hearts.

💌 From all of us at GiftedTalented.com

💌 The Wonder Years

This story first appeared in The Wonder Years, our free newsletter for parents raising extraordinary kids through years of discovery, development, and direction.

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