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Sustaining the Journey Archive
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June 8, 2010
What's Behind a Blink?
As a Cognitive Coach, you are constantly attuned to the brain/body connection as evidenced through the BMIRS (Behavioral Manifestations of Internal Response States) exhibited by those with whom you are interacting. Cognitive scientist Daniel Smilek from the University of Waterloo adds a unique piece of research that serves the coach in knowing when the coachee may have temporarily reached their processing limit:
In "Blinking Eyes Indicate Mind Wandering" (2010), volunteers read a passage from a book on a computer. While reading, a sensor tracked their eye movement, including blinks and what word they were looking at. At random intervals, the computer beeped and the subjects reported whether they'd been paying attention or whether their minds were wandering. The participants blinked more when their minds were wandering than when they were on task. . . . "What we suggest is that when you start to mind-wander, you start to gate the information even at the sensory endings–you basically close your eyelid so there's less information coming into the brain."1
Once again, we realize how important the brain/body connection is, and how heightened awareness to BMIRS can help guide the flow of the conversation.
As you coach this week, what are the eyes of your coachees telling you? Can you discern when your coachees are filling up? Be conscious of your choices in those moments.
1 "Blinking Eyes Indicate Mind Wandering." (2010). Medical News Today. Retrieved May 17, 2010, from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/187248.php
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