A Divergent Perspective

In 1910, a German woman by the name of Katharina Schroth was 16 years old. She had scoliosis. She grew tired of being subjected to treatments that were not aiding her recovery. Told she would be bedridden and die young, Schroth began developing her own, nonsurgical method for scoliosis treatment. It involved breathing and twisting exercises to elongate, de-rotate and stabilise the spine.

James Nestor tells us,

"The medical community repeatedly tried to shut down Schroth, claiming she was neither a doctor nor a therapist and was not qualified to treat these people."

She would later be awarded the Federal Cross of Merit from the then German government for her work, sadly not for her divergent perspective. Divergent thinking is often shunned until enough people have experienced its benefits.

In 1988, Isaac Asimov, an American writer and professor, predicted "connected libraries," saying,

There will be an opportunity finally for every youngster, and indeed, every person, to learn what he or she wants to learn, in his or her own time, at his or her own speed, in his or her own way.

Asimov's thinking diverged from the the common perspective on education in the 1980s.

"Nowadays, what people call learning is forced on you."

he said.

Everyone is forced to learn the same thing on the same day at the same speed in class. And everyone is different.

Everyone Is Different

This week, I was adding my perspective to a LinkedIn article on how to evaluate a presenter's delivery and tone of voice. I went to town in the comments. (*wrote very enthusiastically). Delivery and vocal technique are my favourite things to work on with clients.

But I felt a bit unsettled as I was reading the advice. It was very biased towards the Western way of thinking and what would be termed the "neurotypical" speaker.

On Body Language, it said:

I don't intend to take away from the article and I hope I'm not breaching rules by screenshotting one section of it. The advice is very good. LinkedIn also recognises that it's half written by AI and they are in the development stages of creating content like this. However, I felt it warranted the offering of a divergent perspective, one somewhat more encompassing of neurodivergent speakers.

Don't Tar Others With Your Brush

There's an old saying, printed first in Thomas Shelton's translation of Don Quixote, "tar with the same brush." Opinions differ, but one belief is that it originated on ships, when criminals were potentially set the task of waterproofing boats using tar. If one part of the wood was treated with tar, all others would be also, whether it needed treatment or not. Its meaning went on to relate to the negative labelling of a person based on the behaviour of the company they kept. If Jenny misbehaves at school, Jerry gets blamed too, or tarred with the same brush.

As humans, we naturally tar others with our own brush. We see others through our own lens. When evaluating speakers, the best we can do is be aware that our lenses need polishing. We are unable to fully switch the filters off, but we can clean and change them.

Divergent Means Different

A quick dictionary search of the term "divergent" tells us it means,

tending to be different or develop in different directions.

Some synonyms are:

Notice how language can affect perception? The meaning moves from a gentle "differing, dissimilar, disparate" definition to a "clashing, conficting, contradictory" one. But "clash" doesn't mean different. Clash means confrontation. When we see divergence as disagreeing, it is inevitable that conflict will occur.

Wash Your Brush

When assessing any speaker, remember also to check your own biases. Neurodivergent speakers cannot be assessed on body language (or any other aspect really), in the same way as the so-called 'neurotypical.' No two speakers are the same, and nobody is you. Understand who you are assessing before assuming anything. Allow individuals to be their unique selves. Coach out of them what they want to improve and ask for permission to share feedback, having confirmed what form of response works for them.

A Neurodivergent Perspective

Let's finish by analysing the LinkedIn article's advice a little more deeply.

#1: Body language goes hand-in-hand with tone of voice in delivering a message.

It does. However, body language in Ireland is not the same as body language in, for instance, China. I almost got kicked out of a restaurant in Beijing once for not understanding body language. In Sweden, body language is different to in Italy. In fact, recent research has shown that gestures are used for storytelling in both countries, but in very different ways. Swedes use only representational gestures while Italians use more pragmatic ones.

#2: Observe the presenter's posture, gestures, and facial expressions. Do they appear confident and open, or closed-off and nervous?

Gesture across cultures differs, as does gesture, posture and facial expression for neurodivergent brains and neurotypical. Neurodivergent speakers, depending on what the neurodivergence is, have to learn not only how to perform certain gestures, but what they mean. It is formulaic and structured learning for many, unlike the automatic understanding of gesture common to neurotypical brains.

PRO TIP: Don't presume a speaker is lacking in confidence if how they gesture and express themselves visually does not meet your expectations. Ask yourself if there may be a reason for the difference. Listen beyond the difference.

#3: Effective presenters use body language to reinforce their words, making their delivery more compelling. For instance, they might use hand gestures to illustrate a point or make eye contact to connect with the audience.

This posts puts it perfectly.

Neurodivergent speakers can be overwhelmed with all that is required of them when pressured to perform like neurotypical speakers. It's easy in fast-paced, presumptive environments to judge someone an ineffective speaker, lacking in confidence or underprepared. However, limited gesture and lack of eye contact may indicate an neurodivergent speaker.

Gaze aversion is a sensory processing tool, one necessary to manage sensory overwhelm.

stimpunks.org tells us. For many, overstimulation of the visual cortex blocks other functionality, making speaking harder. If a person needs to speak, they may also need to look away to be able to do so with effective comfort.

PRO TIP: Change your expectations.

If you notice yourself judging a speaker's lack of gesture or eye contact, look deeper. Do you see their eyes darting up and left? That can indicate thinking, which means they're forming their phrases intentionally. Listen behind what you see.

#4: Inconsistent body language can be distracting or convey a lack of confidence, so it's an important aspect of delivery to evaluate.

Again, body language appropriacy differs across cultures, speakers, and most certainly brains. Some neurodivergent speakers may need the support of a podium to settle their brain and allow language processing to happen. Others, may need to move or bounce around to allow for their thoughts to flow.

PRO TIP: Evaluate yourself first.

We don't all have to enjoy the mannerisms of the speakers we evaluate. However, when evaluating, it is important to see beyond our cultural nuances, and our personal ideals, to the speaker. Before commenting, find out what they were happy with and what they want to develop. Unless the aspects you didn't like will cause financial or reputational loss (for the speaker or organisation), don't comment on them if they have not been mentioned.

You are there to help, not to push your agenda upon them.

How do you manage your biases when evaluating presenters?

*****

NOTE: I am not a neurodivergent speaker. I learn as much as I can about neurodivergent brains and thinkers so that I may be as aware as possible what will help or hinder my clients when coaching. If anything I have written is off the mark, please contact me directly and I will happily edit the article.

#neurodivergence #neurodiversity #awareness