Just listen
What if you were to listen to your next meeting at work with the same quality of attention you give your favourite music?
Imagine yourself at a concert. Even before the music begins, you are absorbing the rhythms of the crowd, getting in sync in dozens of ways. As the music begins, your eyes move across the stage, across the crowd. Your body moves, subtly or more obviously. Your breathing changes. Your mind goes where the music leads you. You hear the words as part of the music, one seamless invitation to become part of the flow.
Now imagine yourself at a meeting. Imagine being conscious of the rhythms in the room as people come in and sit down. Imagine noticing that you can pick up the beat that will dominate, or you can select a less dominant beat and join it. Notice the way people look, and then draw back and notice yourself mirroring their gestures, their postures, their expressions. Notice as one person speaks that your attention can move effortlessly between the speaker and the listeners, picking up in your own body the points of connection and the points of difference. Notice that your attention moves with the connection, following the words most closely when the connection is closest.
Try it. You can practice on your own or, if you will be in Toronto on Tuesday evening (Nov. 20) you can practice it at NLP Canada Training. We'd love to meet you. Just leave a message at 416-816-9324 so that we have materials and a CD ready for you.
Imagine yourself at a concert. Even before the music begins, you are absorbing the rhythms of the crowd, getting in sync in dozens of ways. As the music begins, your eyes move across the stage, across the crowd. Your body moves, subtly or more obviously. Your breathing changes. Your mind goes where the music leads you. You hear the words as part of the music, one seamless invitation to become part of the flow.
Now imagine yourself at a meeting. Imagine being conscious of the rhythms in the room as people come in and sit down. Imagine noticing that you can pick up the beat that will dominate, or you can select a less dominant beat and join it. Notice the way people look, and then draw back and notice yourself mirroring their gestures, their postures, their expressions. Notice as one person speaks that your attention can move effortlessly between the speaker and the listeners, picking up in your own body the points of connection and the points of difference. Notice that your attention moves with the connection, following the words most closely when the connection is closest.
Try it. You can practice on your own or, if you will be in Toronto on Tuesday evening (Nov. 20) you can practice it at NLP Canada Training. We'd love to meet you. Just leave a message at 416-816-9324 so that we have materials and a CD ready for you.
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