5 Ways to Invite Intuition to Training Sessions
by Arupa Tesolin
Intuitive intelligence
is knowledge that arrives spontaneously, beyond any known information or apparent thought process. Having a more intuitive workforce can add high value for the employer by anticipating solutions at early stages of a problem, improving client satisfaction, and even increasing workforce retention.
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Arupa Tesolin
Intuition expert
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The opposite of intuition is intellectual knowledge, born in fact and logic. In a fully functioning person, both processes operate fluidly and seamlessly. Traditional organizations have operated with a bias against intuition, except for very senior executives, certain talented individuals, entrepreneurs, or creative departments like marketing.
Take advantage of uncertain times in the business environment to increase intuitive skills with your training participants. Note that intuition exercises usually reveal deeply personal feelings. So if your culture is open and truly values people, such exercises will be easy. But if self-deception is a survival skill in your organization, think twice.
Intuitive approaches are ideal for people-based training topics such as communication, customer service, negotiation skills, problem-solving, and team-building.
This type of training is best suited for decision makers: knowledge workers, people with influence, client service personnel, professionals, managers, and executives. Typically workers with higher education and whose job functions involve people to a high degree are those who benefit most.
Here are five ways you can bring intuition into your training sessions.
Intuition candy warm-up
Use this at the beginning of a training session as a fun way to loosen people up for some tougher work later. Pass around candies and ask each person to find a partner and intuitively guess things about them that they wouldn't know otherwise—one thing for each candy. They can write the guesses down before sharing them with each other. Later you can ask them how close their revealings were to being true.
Intuitive listening exercise
Use this as an experiential learning exercise in client service training, communications skills, or team-building. Have pairs of participants take turns discussing a recent work incident that they are concerned about. While participant A explains, participant B just listens to the unspoken feelings and senses, ignoring the words. When finished, B frames his or her senses and feelings as if B was A. For example, "I felt trapped in the situation, a lot of pressure to perform, and not a strong feeling of support." Then B suggests a potential new approach via intuitive intelligence and asks A how this could be helpful to them. Then roles are reversed.
Intuitive problem-solving exercise
Ask each person to contemplate an unresolvable current business problem that they would like intuitive insight on. Then ask them to imagine they already know the solution. Have them focus on this intently for one or two minutes. Ask them to let all thoughts go and simply write down a free flow of solutions without assessment or critical review of any kind. When they are finished, engage a small group dialogue, or in pairs, about the difference in perspective between approaches they've tried and this approach.
Intuitive facilitation
Most skilled facilitators would agree that intuitive perception plays a large role in their abilities. But when there is so much going on in the room, how do you easily stop and check in with yourself so you aren't overwhelmed with all the data and other people's feelings? An easy way to do this, even while standing up in front of a room, is to just hear your heart beat for a few moments, get calm, and then continue to be present for the group. Your ocean of calmness will refresh any atmosphere and you will effectively prevent trainer burnout.
Intuition social "experiment"
This is a good reality training experiment for intact teams and work groups. All must agree before proceeding. For one week, everyone attempts to solve problems intuitively (of course doing the usual work but when there are needs for solutions, these are arrived at intuitively, either individually or at meetings). At the end of the week at a pre-agreed meeting, the team meets and debriefs as follows: how the experiment worked, what happened, what was risky, what was not, how they felt about it, what results were achieved, the value of the results, both short-term and long-term, and what new learning can be built into their work processes.
Arupa Tesolin is an expert on intuitive intelligence in business and is the founder of Intuita, a global training company. She is based in Mississauga, Ont. and can be reached at intuita@intuita.com.
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