Expanding Your Range of Emotional Expression
A Bath Consultancy Group Key Concept Paper by Dr Peter Hawkins
- Introduction
- Matching and Mismatching
- The seven sentic states
- Other emotional states
- Emotional Expression and EQ
- References
1. Introduction
Some brilliant musicians find musical pieces they cannot play well, because
of the technical competence, but because it demands them to access an emotional
rhythm that is outside their normal repertoire. Likewise actors can struggle
with certain parts and senior executives find they are unable to move certain
stock situations in their team or organisation and more insight and explanation
does not help.
When watching a foreign film, opera or play it is often possible to be very moved by the emotions of the performance despite not understanding the plot or content. The emotions are carried in the rhythms not just of the music, but of the performer's voice, posture and gestures.
The emotional rhythms go across different cultures and seem to be universally recognisable. They were researched by Dr Manfred Clynes who called them "sentic states". He discovered there were seven basic rhythms, namely:-
Anger, Hatred, Grief, Love, Sensuality, Joy, Awe
Since his academic research others have developed his work and these include: Dr Richard Borofsky in the US and Dr Malcolm Parlett in the UK from whom Peter Hawkins has learnt the system. They have developed the ideas into ways of working with performers, executives, consultants and psychotherapists to help them extend their emotional range of expression.
2. Matching and Mismatching
This work has also drawn on the fundamental notion that is found in Gestalt
psychotherapy and Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) that for effective relationships
you need to:-
Match for Rapport
Mismatch for Change
Individuals can increase the range of people they can relate to well be developing their matching skills. These include matching:-
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Language
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Metaphors
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Sensory Modes
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Posture
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Volume, Tempo, Timbre and Pitch
Fundamental to all of these is emotional rhythm.
Matching establishes rapport with an individual, group or organisation, but rapport is not enough for effective relationships. There is a need to make a difference, move things on, unblock stuckness, mobilise new energies. This is not achieved by understanding, insight and explanation alone. The change initiator has to mismatch the current pattern of expression and introduce a discordant rhythm that emotionally moves the people and the collective dynamic into a new register.
3. The seven sentic states
All seven emotional rhythms have a positive and negative side. The fully mature
person can express all seven both clearly and appropriately.
In figure 1 we have shown the seven sentic states linked to different parts of the body and to different energy chakras in the Indian Hindu system.
Anger - the first of the fundamental rhythms, is located at the base of the spine. Anger should not be confused with aggression, for clear anger sets boundaries in time and space and gives clear instructions. It does not attack the other person. Without the rhythm of anger it is very hard to attract the attention of a class, workshop or large group of people to start an event, or bring a large discussion to a close. The rhythm of anger is essential in assertiveness training in order to say "no" or set a clear boundary.
In music it can be heard in the opening of Beethoven's 5th Symphony or at the start of Bernstien's "West Side Story".
Hatred - is located in the gut, and is the energetic rhythm used to end things and to creatively destroy. Hatred is used to tear things up, break off dead wood, end a relationship. Without hatred we become constipated; have lofts and cellars full of things we never use but cannot throw away; and can never end projects or relationships. Hatred helps us finish off, break out and break through business, as well as confront stuck situations that are being denied. The rhythm can be heard in Wagner's "Das Rheingold" in Alberich's arias and in Mime's aria in Siegfried. Also in Verdi's "Otello".
Grief - deep grief originates in the lower chest and diaphragm. It is the rhythm of mourning and sadness from gentle sobbing to the wailing that can be heard in Middle Eastern funerals. It is also the rhythm of letting go, of surrender and forgiveness. Without this rhythm it is impossible to fully empathise with another's pain or grief. It can be heard in the slow movement of Mahler's 5th Symphony or the hymn "Abide with me".
Love - this rhythm originates from the heart. It is the rhythm used to welcome and include people, to express acceptance of others and a concern and caring for them. This rhythm can be heard in Brahm's Lullaby, (which may be why it is so successful in helping children go to sleep) or the Countess's song at the end of Mozart's "Marriage of Figaro".
Eros or sensuality - often expressed through the mouth and hands, this rhythm is the expression of sensual pleasure and excitement. It can be seen in the savouring of delicious food or enjoying another's company. It is used by leaders to excite interest in a description of what their vision would look like, sound like or feel like and by trainers to engage their audience energetically. Without the energy of Eros our relationships can become dry and sterile.
In music the rhythm can be heard in Bizet's "Carmen" and Ravel's "Bolero" as well as a ot of great jazz saxophone music.
Joy - is a rhythm that goes right through the body but is most expressed through the eyes. Through joy we celebrate and affirm the positive. It can be seen in sport as players do a "high five" slapping of hands or the crowd jump in the air. In music it can be heard in Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" in his 9th symphony; in Handel's "Unto us a Child is Born", in the "Messiah"; and in Copelands "Appalacian Spring" in the tune used for the modern hymn "Lord of the Dance".
Awe - When we see a beautiful sunset, or a spectacular view that takes our breath away, we express awe. The same rhythm is used to celebrate and affirm how impressively another person or group has performed. "Wow that was fantastic!", we might say.It is the rhythm of being taken beyond ourselves and can be heard in the last movement of Mahler's 2nd Symphony or Richard Strauss' "Four last songs".
Of course, we encounter other emotional states apart from these seven, such as jealousy, pride, shame, revenge, anxiety, fear, etc. However, most of these are conflations of one or more sentic states packaged-up with a variety of other beliefs and judgements rather than new states in their own right.
An apparent exception is Fear. Like the earlier seven sentic states it is located in a part of the body - the stomach - typically it is like a pit or chasm opening up. When felt more lightly, it is like butterflies in the tummy; here the feeling borders with anxiety and excitement. The rhythm of Fear can be heard in the jagged cascades of the strings in the soundtrack of Hitchcock's film 'Psycho'.
Like Anger, Fear is a product of an ancient biological 'fight or flight' mechanism associated with adrenalin secretion and an increased pulse rate. But, unlike Anger, instead of producing an increased blood flow to the face and upper torso, it drains it away downwardly and internally.
And this is the difference between Fear and the sentic states. With the seven sentic states a person's energy is already moving outwards into interpersonal space. In the case of Fear, however, energy is moving inwards. With Fear, active listening and acknowledgement are also important for helping people to become unfrozen and, in the process, this can sometimes give vital data about the issue the person is struggling with. But it is only when the person's energy begins to flow outward again that they become effective players in the interpersonal space of organisational life.
5. Emotional Expression and EQ
Daniel Goleman (1996 and 1998) and others have written extensively about the need for successful executives and other professionals to combine a sharp intelligence (IQ) with a well balanced emotional intelligence (EQ). He breaks EQ down into 25 key competencies such as: "influence", "building bonds", "understanding others" etc. There are very important outward skills, all of which require the individual to inwardly access the emotional energy and find the right rhythm with which to express themselves.
Each of us tends to develop one or two dominant modes of expression and have other rhythms where, because of our culture, personality or personal history, we find it harder to be fully expressive.
Our applied research leads us to believe that personalities do not change easily or quickly if at all, but within our personalities we can begin to:-
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Expand our range of emotional expression.
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Use each emotional rhythm more cleanly and clearly.
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Increase our awareness of the non-verbal emotional expression of others.
To do this we need honest feedback from others, frameworks for understanding the range of choice, practice of new modes of expression and coaching.
Clynes, M (1977 and UK edition 1989) Sentics: A touch of the emotions. Dorset; Prism Press.
Cooper, R and Sawaf, A (1997) Executive EQ. London: Orion Business Books.
Goleman, D (1996) Emotional Intelligence. London: Bloomsbury.
Goleman, D (1998) Working with Emotional Intelligence. London: Bloomsbury.
Keleman, S (1989) Emotional Anatomy. Berkeley: Centre Press.
MacLean, P (1980) 'Sensory and perceptive factors in emotional functions of the triune brain', in Rorty, R Explaining Emotions. London: University of California Press.
Dr Peter Hawkins 1998
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