Did you know that the most effective interventions when interacting with people involve movement?
As a coach I have learnt to listen to people. Holistic active listening, which means also observing body language cues, eye movement, as well as listening to the world and the tone of the voice. It was a passive observation. And initially I thought that talking would be enough to elicit questions and actions. It was, to some extent, but I did not appreciate to the fullest the power of our biology.
It is actually much more effective to first move the person in a posture that will be receptive to the moment. In fact, it is almost sometimes a prerequisite for an effective intervention or an effective negotiation. This intervention can take many forms, and generally aims at establishing an open, straight and happy state. Because our physiology retro-acts quickly with our mood and mindset (like the post on “How simple is it to get positive emotions” showed in the case of the Laughing Clubs), it opens many possibilities.
Due to our education we often over-estimate the power of rational argument and under-estimate the effectiveness of posture and well-being in the moment. Be careful to change the posture of your interlocutor and you will get much better results in discussions, coaching, negotiation or any interaction where effectiveness of interaction is important.
Learn to intervene on other’s posture. You’ll see that you will multiply your influence. Start today.
