Developing Your Intuition

The first step in developing your intuition is to ask, "what is it?" Intuition is instinctive knowledge, or a hunch. A keen and quick insight.1

Much like in music, dance, sports and other occupations that require choreography, there is a secret ingredient that separates the good from the great. It is the difference between the cold hard facts and true beauty. Intuition is that ingredient.

We as coaches actively monitor our intuition when coaching and even use the term, “dancing in the moment,” to describe our relationship with a client.

To be highly skilled and practiced in our vocation, brings about a "knowing" that can be perceived as a sixth sense. The Dreyfus Model of skill acquisition articulates that there is development of intuition over time and comes with experience and growth.

"Proficiency is shown by individuals who develop intuition to guide their decisions and devise their own rules to formulate plans. The progression is thus from rigid adherence to rules to an intuitive mode of reasoning based on tacit knowledge.2"

Intuition develops by practicing it. Use your listening skills to heighten your intuition. "Listening with intuition, coaches pay attention to the images, metaphors, and internal words or phrases that emerge from within as an intuitive connection.3(p.8) It is enormously valuable because, time and again, it synthesizes more impressions and information than we could ever analyze consciously.4"

Curiosity and intuition work together. Take a quick read of our article on developing curiosity, "Curiosity... How Can You Get It Back?" Let that curiosity lead you to great questions and then follow it up with engaged listening. Catching what is said, how it sounded, the way it is said and the context in which it was said, cultivates a fertile garden for our intuition to thrive in.

Intuition is like...

Developing your humor is a fun method for understanding how intuition works and how it can be developed.

Much like developing humor, intuition comes from noticing fine details that are not readily acknowledged or noticed by others. The funny person practices noticing these fine details and variances, both internal and external. Most importantly, they use it!

The humorist sees something funny and they open themselves up by responding to an insight. Sometimes it is the wrong instinct or wrong material. Sometimes it’s the wrong timing. Sometimes it’s all of these!

And yet sometimes, it is the right instinct, the right material and the right timing. When you hit all three of those it’s pure joy.

1) Notice it.  2) Use it!  3) Fine tune it. 4) Trust it!

The more you practice “noticing” and using it, the better the results you will get and the more you will trust it.

Do you know a funny person? To get a different perspective on how to develop your intuition, ask a couple funny people you know, how they developed their humor. What do they notice? Why do they notice it? Take those tips and apply it to your intuition growth.

For Fun: How To Be Funny

~~~~~~~

Take Action!

1. Understand what intuition is.
• It's an internal "knowing."
• It's the beauty that comes from that "knowing."
• It's the secret ingredient that separates the good from the great.
2. Let you curiosity dig up the finer details.
• You've been involved in enough misunderstandings to know that people are always saying more than what their words are expressing.
• Dig a little deeper to clarify and mine out the details.
3. Be a good listener.
• Hear what is said, how it sounded, the way it is said and the context in which it was said.
• With a little experience, insightful questions and listening to the "heart" of what is expressed will have your intuition at full throttle.
4. Notice it. Use it! Fine tune it. Trust it!
• Notice the fine details of an interaction, just like a comedian picks up humors cues.
• Use your intuition and in time you will trust it.
• Intuition is a powerful ally!

Please, add your thoughts in the comment section.

Concept: Develop your intuition through curiosity, deep listening and humor.

~~~~~~~

References

1 Dictionary.com. “Intuition” Accessed 2018, January 23. Retrieved from http://www.dictionary.com/browse/intuition?s=t 
2 Wikipedia.org. “Dreyfus model of skill acquisition” Accessed 2018, January 23. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreyfus_model_of_skill_acquisition 
3 Menendez, Diane S.; Williams, Patrick. Becoming a Professional Life Coach: Lessons from the Institute of Life Coach Training (p.218). W. W. Norton & Company. Kindle Edition.
4 Kimsey-House, Henry; Kimsey-House, Karen; Sandahl, Phillip; Whitworth, Laura. Co-Active Coaching: Changing Business, Transforming Lives (p. 12). Quercus. Kindle Edition