Coaching is connecting AND is the cornerstone of skilled coaching. Even an introvert can do it! That’s right, if you don’t think you have the interpersonal skills to become a life coach you are wrong! This is a very attainable skill to go after.
In this Huffington Post blog, “11 Ways to Instantly Connect with Anyone”, Dr. Travis Bradberry sheds light on the subject of personal connection as a fundamental human need and points out that we all have innate skill in this area. He gives solid advice on how to quickly and easily connect with people.
Too many people succumb to the mistaken belief that the ability to connect with others is a natural, unteachable trait that belongs to only a lucky few. It’s easy to fall prey to this misconception. In reality, this ability is under your control, and it’s a matter of emotional intelligence (EQ).
Research conducted by Matthew Lieberman at UCLA shows that being social and connecting with others is as fundamental a human need as food, shelter, and water. For example, Lieberman discovered that we feel social pain, such as the loss of a relationship, in the same part of the brain that we feel physical pain.
The primary function of this brain area is to alert us to threats to our survival. It makes you realize how powerful and important social connection is. We’re hard wired to be social creatures. “The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood.” -Ralph Nichols.
MRIs of the brain show that social thinking and analytical thinking involve entirely different neural networks and that they operate something like a seesaw. When you engage in analytical thinking, the social part of your brain quiets down, but as soon as you’re finished, the social network springs back to life.
The social brain is the end of the seesaw where the fat kid sits; it’s our brain’s default setting.
Given that social connection is such a fundamental human need, you’d think that it would be easy to connect with everyone we meet. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Against our own self-interest, we get bogged down by shyness, self-consciousness, cynicism, pride, competitiveness, jealousy, and arrogance.
If you can get that baggage out of the way, you can connect with anyone—even those who are still holding on to their own. Here are some tips that will help you to connect instantly with everyone you meet. Read more
Once you know that coaching is connecting, you will purposely learn professional coaching skills and recovery coaching skills and techniques to provide your clients with top notch coaching.
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