The Science Behind Coaching -By Ram Srinivasan Agile Coach and Trainer @ramvasan, http://linkedin.com/in/ramvasan

About This Session Is not a Learn about Coaching 101 session. Brain Science is an evolving field, multiple models exist for complex processes Though I explain a process by itself, the brain parallelizes a lot of processes at the same time Same brain regions can be active during different processes

How It Works- You Choose Or1. 2. Or Or 3. Or

The Basics Triune Brain Theory

Brains Braking System and Emotional Regulation

What different strategies do you use to regulate your own emotions (as coaches)? Lets Talk About Emotions What different strategies do you use with your clients to regulate their emotions?

The Thinking vs. The Feeling

The Thinking vs. The Feeling (Thinking) (Feeling) Slow Accurate Rational(Thinking) vs. Fast Approximate Action(Feeling)

An Quick Example If a bat and a ball together cost $1.10, and the bat costs a dollar more than the ball, what does the ball cost?

The Negative Limbic Arousal are Faster, Longer and Stronger

Would You Buy a Car If The brakes are fragile, get worn out easily Works only now and then and is temperamental Capacity to apply brakes decrease each time you use it? Consumes a lot of fuel when you use the brake?

Our Brains Braking System Motor (associated with movement) Self Control Cognitive (thinking) Self Control

Cognitive (Thinking Based) Emotional Regulation Suppressing Emotions Incidental Emotional Regulation (Labeling/ Symbolic Labeling/ Affect labeling/Naming Emotions) Intentional Emotional Regulation (reappraisal, reframing, normalizing, reinterpreting, perspective taking) Mirror Neuron Intervention

Talking About Emotions Would you feel better or worse if you talked about your emotions? Labeling vs Venting Labeling with Symbolic Language (metaphors, metrics, simplification of the experience) Ironic inference after Affect Labeling experiments

Labeling / Naming Emotions HELLO My emotional state is Certain intentional activities have incidental or unintentional effect on emotions

Exercise: What questions can you ask your coachee so that he/she can label emotions? Example: In a word or two, how would you describe that experience?

Labeling Tips and Tricks Disentangling input from interpretation of input (feelings) makes it easy to label emotions and makes it easy to identify them when they arise An emotionally rich vocabulary will help someone label emotions better Ability to observe our own thoughts, feelings and behaviors will help us be more aware of our emotions I.e. Merely seeing yourself promotes self-restrain Affect labeling also promotes decentering (ability to perceive thoughts and feelings as both impermanent and objective occurrences in the mind)

Intentional Emotional Regulation Would you rather have $5, no strings attached, or instead flip and coin and win $10 or nothing?

Intentional Emotional Regulation I give you $10, you can give me $5 back, or we can flip a coin and can lose $10 or nothing

Intentional Emotional Regulation Would you rather have $5, no strings attached, or instead flip and coin and win $10 or nothing? I give you $10, you can give me $5 back, or we can flip a coin and can lose $10 or nothing Our Feeling Brain is more sensitive to framing whereas our Thinking Brain is more sensitive to facts

Intentional Emotional Regulation Cognitive Reappraisal: Our realities derives from the stories we tell ourselves, at least the ones we believe Works when we are not in the most intense part of our emotional reaction Some cognitive clarity needed Depends on other people in the room

Intentional Emotional Regulation Perspective Taking: Ability to think in terms of what the other person might be thinking Empathy kicks in before perspective taking Taking a third person perspective and first person perspective activate different regions of the brain Shaking off and physically moving (to a different perspective) help brain get more oxygen and also generate new thoughts

Mirror Neurons Mirror System in monkey and humans

Counter Mirroring - Mirror Neuron Intervention Identify what you are feeling Entertain the idea that your brain may be mirroring others feeling Stop negative self-talk, attacks and complaints temporarily Your emotions also reflect the sum total of other peoples emotions Think about a complementary feeling or action

References