Yannick’s Coaching Lab features guest coaches from a broad variety of approaches, who showcase how they work as part of a live 45min coaching session, followed by reflections and Q&A with the audience.
Curious to know what this session was like? Have a peek at the Lab Report below or consider VIP membership to access the full recording of this and many more exciting sessions.
Yannick’s Coaching Lab #38 — Devon White
Lab Report by Natalie Fraser
Summary
Devon has been fascinated by consciousness from an early age. He previously collaborated
with Yannick at the School of Positive Transformation, leading the ‘Communication’ module
for the Accredited Certificate in Integrative Coaching, and was recommended for this role
by a colleague of influential coach Sir John Whitmore. Devon has also recently created the
school’s NLP Practitioner Certificate.
Devon is a master in communication and has spent decades dedicating himself to exploring
this through different approaches. He co-founded FIELD which utilizes neurotechnology to
‘help people meet their brain’. Devon appreciates the language of engineering to build and
scale wellbeing and performance believing that deep inside they’re working perfectly,
moving away from the ‘people are broken’ focused language of mainstream psychology.
Devon’s client is a successful business owner considering to walk away from a significant
business opportunity due to feeling out of alignment. During the session, Devon takes a
guiding approach to help the client explore, understand, experience and achieve this state
of alignment.
Insights & learning
Anything you want to know about me?
Unlike many coaches that we’ve had in the Lab, Devon started the session by asking the
client if there was anything they’d like to know about him before they started the session. In
this case, the client stated that he’d already read his bio and was happy to jump straight in –
a helpful reminder that our clients may well look us up and start building a view of us before
they meet us.
Magic lamp
“If you had a magic lamp and could ask a genie for anything you wished, what would it be?”
a favorite first question for Devon who held the silence as his client reflected. This offered
an interesting, creative opportunity to explore the goals for coaching – alignment and
integrity.
Wisdom of the past
Devon explored with his client if, when, and where his client had experienced alignment in
the past, revealing that alignment had been experienced and could be identified as when
the client was in flow and didn’t feel he had to (metaphorically) wear a mask. For clients
who cannot easily connect with past experiences that exemplify the state that
they’re seeking today, Devon uses various techniques to subtly develop a sense of
trust and bring clients into their felt sense including for example NLP Nested Loops,
“imagine it”, “imagine if you were an animal experiencing it”.
Assessing body context in an online environment
Devon ascertained at the start whether the camera was mirroring his client or
showing normal view, setting up for the duration of the session when he continually
made observations about the client’s unconscious actions such as eye movement and
pace changing whilst speaking about certain topics
Devon ascertained at the start whether the camera was mirroring his client or
showing normal view, setting up for the duration of the session when he continually
made observations about the client’s unconscious actions such as eye movement and
pace changing whilst speaking about certain topics (such as slowing down and
lowering his gaze to the right when he spoke about being in flow). Observing the
non-verbal communication lies at the heart of Devon’s approach.
Micro-muscular cues
Devon openly expressed that micro-muscular cues are far more important and
informative than the story or words being told. The premise: sensorimotor
configuration of the body shows up the truth immediately, before any words are
reached or expressed. Devon connected this to his client’s goal of alignment,
supporting him to recognize on a physical level how to achieve alignment as a neuro-
somatic experience any time he wants rather than a cognitive achievement. Devon
explained that this was a skill and a process that could develop over time.
Sensory noticing
Psycho-education about embodied experiences quickly enabled his client to describe
the embodied experiences he was having whilst discussing being ‘in flow’ and ‘in
alignment’. Lived experiences (such as playing football; poker) when his connection
to his embodied messages were most apparent were drawn on revealing that both
the presence and the absence of embodied feelings were significant. Integrating
noticing these embodied flow feelings with the session goal honed his client’s ability
to actively chose to enter into flow state.
“That which is greater than yourself”
Psychoeducation about the limitations of language & value of felt sense when trying
to discuss the paradox and multi-dimensionality of flow states/sense of oneness with
the wider cosmos. Cultivating this place of calm ‘just being’ provides the foundation
for authentic movement towards alignment.
The wish fulfilled
Devon’s aim of the session was to understand which state of consciousness the client
wants to be in. “What is whispering to you and calling to you from the depths of the
depth; what is most intriguing to you?”. The client described knowing this as when
“I’ve arrived”.
Key take-aways
Devon consciously does very little contracting at the beginning of a session stating
that “confusion is one of the great openers for depth of experience.” Devon’s initial
sessions are often several hours long.
Consciousness can get in the way, in contrast to having access to felt sense states
which act in alignment with one’s deeper truth. At the center of the NLP code is the
essence of the person.
The more access to emotions, the more free the person is. This is what generates
behavior change. Some people have walls up and Devon advises being stern but
playful to help them bring their walls down.
Watch the recording of this session by joining the Lab as a member: www.GoCoachingLab.com
A list of all available recordings can be found at https://bit.ly/LabRecordings
This Lab Report was authored by Natalie Fraser
Natalie is an existential Counselling Psychologist, specialising in trauma and transformation, and curious about coaching. Interested in exploring life’s Big Questions? Find out more at: www.existentialofferings.com
