Coaching: Staying Present & Intuition
One of the many aspects of direct practice with coaching clients (individuals and groups) is being in the moment, being in their moment, totally focused on them, and what is happening in the room.
Another important, key aspect to direct practice is listening to your gut, using your self as a reflection of the client's emotional experience to help them tap into deeper learning and effect change.
However, sometimes there can be distractions (personal, professional, environmental, global, etc). We're human, of course, and those distractions can take us out of the moment and out of tuning into to the work.
Reconnecting to the present, to what's happening in the room, and to your intuition is an invaluable skill for any coach and mental health professional.
Paulette Rao, MCC, BCC blogs about how to access intuition for coaches. A cornerstone of accessing those gut feelings is: "Being in the moment and not listening to the mind chatter ... Overthinking significantly impairs one’s ability to access intuition. It is a rather simple concept yet hard to do."
One way to practice being in the moment, and learning out to not overthink, whether it's to connect with clients, get out of your head, and/or tap into your intuition is with applied improv exercises. Improv is all about being in the moment, reacting, and adding to what's happening in the room and with your scene partner.
Yes, it's scary. And with practice is gets easier, just like learning how to trust your intuition.
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Notice what I did up there? I used “Yes, And.”
Yes, it's scary. And with practice is gets easier, just like learning how to trust your intuition.
Would you have written, “But with practice is gets easier”? I bet, yes. It’s natural to use those “buts.” I almost did. And then I noticed it, and made a change. That’s my suggestion for you.
Notice how many times a day you say “Yes, But” to someone when you really mean “Yes” or you could really emphatically mean yes but you became nervous or unsure or you’re negotiating your “Yes” response. (* “Yes… but” can also mean “No.” If you mean “No,” by all means say “No.”)
Every time you say “Yes, But,” (and there will be many in one day), notice it, see how your reply would change if you said “Yes, And.”
When appropriate, try out a “Yes, And.”
See what happens.
How does the conversation shift? How do you feel about your “Yes, And”? Stay in the present, listen to what happens, and watch the shifts.
*If you try out “Yes, And,” let me know in the comments!