In her mission to reduce stress, improve communication, build personal and professional relationships and develop teams of trusting and collaborative colleagues, Amanda Gore explores the mind-body connection and its relationship to good health.
Gore, who was originally a physical therapist with a major in psychology, holds a degree in physiotherapy and is a master practitioner of neurolinguistics. She is the author of four books and numerous videos. Gore has worked in corporations, hospitals and private practice and has done many radio and television interviews on her areas of expertise.
Gore often expresses her belief in the importance of connecting with others both at home and at work. She is committed to helping people “connect their hearts with other people’s hearts and reconnect their own hearts with their heads.”
Since launching her speaking career more than 20 years ago, Gore has made presentations to groups in 19 countries, earning praise for her uplifting and inspiring message. “Superb,” “unforgettable” and “engaging” are just some of the adjectives used to describe Gore by those who have had the privilege of witnessing one of her presentations.
She has also been called “brilliantly funny,” “tenderly charming,” “enchanting,” and “captivating.”
In what promises to be an invigorating and enlightening presentation, Amanda Gore will bring her boundless energy and enthusiasm to the ACTE Convention in Las Vegas. She will be offering her own unique perspective on leadership and communication and on reducing stress and improving well being. This sounds like too good an opportunity to pass up.
And it is almost guaranteed to be a whole lot of fun!
You were originally a physical therapist with a major in psychology, but you are also described as a master practitioner of neurolinguistics. Would you please explain to our readers how you define neurolinguistics?
Neurolinguistic (NLP) programming is the name given to a process of learning about communication. A simple definition is that it teaches us the different ways in which people think and process information, so we can modify our ways of communicating and match their needs.
Imagine one of those children’s toys that have circle-, square- and triangle-shaped holes, and there are corresponding blocks to put into those holes. When a child tries to force a square block into a round hole, it won’t go through.
Similarly, when communicating with people, those holes in the toy represent the different ways people process information. If you are trying to communicate with a person whose predominant way of thinking is ‘square’ (or visual), unless you use ‘square’ (or visual) language and thinking, the message will not go through—just like the block will not go through unless it matches the shape of the hole.
A great introduction to NLP is the book Introducing NLP by O’Connor and Seymore.
Since you stress the importance of connections with others, could you offer advice on how teachers might connect better with their students as well as with other members of the school community?
Firstly, I would suggest studying with Michael Grinder. I have studied with Michael for 15 years, and he is an educator’s educator! He is amazing, and I have seen him transform (literally) many classrooms and teachers’ effectiveness—not to mention helping them feel more satisfaction and less stress. His website is www.michaelgrinder.com.
Secondly, I might offer a quote from The Little Prince by Antoine St. Exupery: “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
I speak a lot about connecting our heads with our hearts, as western living tends to ‘sever’ us at the neck. And we live in our heads—worrying and being anxious and not listening to our hearts, where the wisdom resides. To connect better with our students and colleagues (and everyone else!), we need to have our own heads and hearts connected and then connect with other people’s hearts.
I am not a space cadet, I promise! This strategy works—and we will discuss the specific strategies for connecting with others at the conference.
What do you mean by “Leading with the Heart?”
Most aspects of our society make us rush, do more with less in less time, and bombard us with electronic ‘stuff.’ All this makes us disconnect from our hearts. We worry more, focus less, and use less wisdom in our decisions.
When we begin to filter our decisions through the heart’s wisdom, we can connect much more effectively with others and see things from their perspective rather than just our own. This makes us more compassionate and better leaders. I will discuss this in more detail in the session as well.
Just one specific point—people crave recognition for what they have done. If we are leading by filtering thoughts and decisions through our hearts, then we will see more opportunities for recognizing others, which makes them feel great and want to be the best they can be—the goal of most leaders.
Teachers today are more stressed than ever before, so what advice can you offer on dealing with all of that stress?
I am someone who recognizes how much teachers do and how much they are under-recognized and underpaid. They are expected to do so much and are given so little thanks for what they do. So to reduce their stress, I suggest they spoil themselves!
We can’t change the way education is working, but we can change the way we look after ourselves. There are a few simple strategies that work immediately.
Number one: Remember to breathe. It sounds simple, but it works! When we are stressed, the first thing we do is to stop breathing—or at least breathe in a shallow way. As soon as we take two huge breaths, we start to feel better both physiologically and physically. It’s the breathing out that really helps.
Number two: Make sure you have a ritual of unwind strategies. On your way home, do something that helps you relax—play a comedy tape, listen to music you love or listen to an educational tape.
Number three: This is a good one that I read on the net, and it really works! It’s called the ‘trouble tree.’ When you arrive home each night—before you walk inside—hang all your troubles on a tree outside your home, then flick off the stress of the day, breathe and walk inside ready to have a good night with family, friends or yourself.
These are just some ideas—but they work!
Would you please explain the relationship between good health and having fun?
Laughter is well recognized now as having health benefits. It releases endorphins (the body’s natural happy drugs), relaxes muscles, reduces blood pressure, eliminates stress chemicals, and just generally releases things. It is the quickest way to feel better.
Watch comedy movies, listen to comedy tapes, do anything that makes you laugh. It’s also the best way to keep a relationship alive by the way!
Do you have some fun exercises planned as part of your presentation at the ACTE convention to help attendees release the endorphins that you call the body’s natural “happy drugs?”
Sure do! We will be doing many activities that actually work to reduce stress, make you a better teacher and leader, and partner and leader—and that also make us laugh. They will find that they have laughed out loud for the whole time while learning these simple and practical skills—and will be full of endorphins!
