Course Description

Course Overview

In an increasingly complex workplace, the leaders and facilitators who stand out are those who can quietly “read the room” and respond in the moment with clarity, courage, and care. This highly experiential 2‑day workshop is designed for leaders, facilitators, and OD professionals who want to turn that intuitive skill into a disciplined practice they can rely on in high‑stakes conversations, team sessions, and organisational change work.

Across two days of live experiments, reflective practice, and courageous conversations, you will work from the inside out—paying attention to your own perceptions, body signals, and stories as powerful instruments for sensing what is really happening in the room. You will learn to notice subtle verbal, non‑verbal, and energetic cues, make sense of them using robust frameworks such as Gestalt and SCARF, and intervene in ways that move groups forward rather than shutting them down.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this 2‑day workshop, participants will be able to:

• Develop the ability to read verbal, non‑verbal, and energetic signals in any group setting.
• Understand the science behind perception, bias, and somatic awareness.
• Practice observation, reflective questioning, and intentional intervention.
• Build a personal practice plan for continuous skill development.

1‑Day Workshop Outline

1. Arriving in the Room 

• Setting intentions for a soul‑searching, practice‑focused day.
• Establishing psychological safety and confidentiality for a mixed, public group.

2. Seeing, Feeling, and Interpreting Signals

• Verbal, non‑verbal, and energetic signals in groups: what you notice first.
• Perception, bias, and somatic awareness—how your body and brain filter the room.
• Guided somatic practice: tracking sensations and emotions while in a group.

3. Frameworks in Action: Gestalt, SCARF, and the Here‑and‑Now

• Gestalt lens: working with what is emerging in the here‑and‑now.
• SCARF: how Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, and Fairness show up in rooms.
• Small‑group work: applying these lenses to real situations from participants’ lives.

4. Practising Observation, Questioning, and Intervention

• Structured observation drills: room scans, pattern spotting, energy mapping.
• Reflective questioning to test your read of the room without blaming or shaming.
• Intentional interventions: naming what you notice, adjusting process, inviting new voices.

5. Integration and Personal Practice Plan

• Soul‑searching reflection: “Who am I when I walk into a room?”
• Identifying personal triggers, typical moves, and desired shifts.
• Designing a simple practice plan: before‑during‑after habits for upcoming sessions.
• Closing circle: insights and learning commitments