Verbal and non verbal observation instead of questionnaires
Have you seen Zomergasten or do you know Frans de Waal the primatologist? Not only a very intelligent person but also a warm welcoming humanist.
During the broadcast Zomergasten of last Sunday he was interviewed for three hours about his work, his life, his preferences.
One of his current assignments is to observe operating rooms at a US hospital. Observation on behavior. Instead of filling in questionnaires on behavior. He has a strong aversion against questionnaires. As do I. Cause who will ever admit that he is not the person he wants to be or who the psychologist wants him to be? Who dares to be really vulnerable?
For years I have been working with observation of verbal and nonverbal behavior of sportcoaches, sportteam meetings and interactions between coach and player.
Together with my colleague Anita Tekamp we also observe management and boardroom meetings. We observe and give feedback on what we see, hear or feel. We do not interpret but we do reflect and ask questions. It makes the difference between starting an internal personal learning process versus an external lesson.
