Listening Beyond Words
Emotional intelligence with somatic awareness
In today's fast-paced business environment, emotional intelligence has become a vital skill for effective leadership. Leaders who understand and manage their emotions—and those of their team—are more successful in building trust, driving performance, and fostering a positive workplace…
Active Listening
Body Awareness / Interoception
Body Scan & Body Awareness
Communication Skills Practice
Empathy Exercises
Movement Activities
Workshop
Description
In today's fast-paced business environment, emotional intelligence has become a vital skill for effective leadership. Leaders who understand and manage their emotions—and those of their team—are more successful in building trust, driving performance, and fostering a positive workplace culture. This program takes emotional intelligence a step further by integrating somatic awareness, helping leaders connect their physical sensations to their emotional and mental states.
Exercises include empathy mapping, reading non-verbal cues with partners, playful performative practices for strengthening empathy and somatic centering for emotional regulation
Benefits
CHALLENGE: LACK OF EMOTIONAL SELF-REGULATION & INTERPERSONAL SENSITIVITY.
What it solves: Low psychological safety, conflicts, and misunderstandings.
Body Focus: Recognizing somatic cues of stress/emotion in others, using movement to de-escalate.
Result: Healthier work relationships, easier collaborations & trust
Hosted by Mike O'Connor
About the Host
I bring together movement, science, and somatic practice to help teams grow more connected, resilient, and creative. With a PhD in embodied communication from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, my research explored how we perceive, imagine, and create “lines” as organizing principles for experience and sense-making. This work at the intersection of cognitive science and performance has shaped how I approach leadership training: translating deep concepts of perception, empathy, and metaphor into clear, practical tools for communication and collaboration. Alongside my academic work, I have over 25 years of international teaching experience in creative practice and contemporary movement. I’ve also presented my research on dance, neuroscience, and sense-making at conferences in Germany, Portugal, the UK, and beyond. My training goes beyond the studio: I am a certified Pantarei Approach bodyworker, experienced in Gabor Maté’s Compassionate Inquiry, and a long-time practitioner of non-violent communication. Since 2008, I’ve facilitated feedback processes using the Fieldwork method, helping people exchange constructive input without tension or conflict. Today, I channel this blend of research, artistic practice, and therapeutic training into Flow Shaped Leadership. Whether guiding teams in feedback culture, supporting managers in public speaking, or creating workshops on empathy and team dynamics, I draw on my background in movement, science, and somatics to help people lead — and listen — with presence and authenticity.
Certifications & Credentials
Ph.D. VrijeUniversiteit:Amsterdam.
Compassionate Inquiry: Short course self taught
Pantarei Approach Somatic Bodywork. Certificate.
Masters in Choreography. DAS Graduate School: Amsterdam Univ. of the Arts.
Fieldwork Feedback Facilitator. The Field New York City
Bachelor of Fine Arts. Modern Dance: University of Utah.
Focus Areas
Creative/CultureWell-being/HealthDevelopment/Coaching
Location
Berlin, Germany
Languages
English
Travel Locations
Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Czechia
Corporate Experience
Moderate
Session Types Offered
Interactive & Passive
Past Experience Doing Sessions
Yes - Interactive
Past Clients
WeWork, TanzQuartierWien, We are Village
Photo Gallery