Why are some messages well understood while others create confusion, frustration, or misunderstanding?
Communication is at the heart of a team’s functioning. Yet, even with the best intentions, messages don’t always produce the desired effects.
Some people communicate quickly, others give little information, some take up a lot of space while others hesitate to express themselves. Sometimes we are so focused on what we want to say that we forget to observe our interlocutor’s reaction.
Intervention goals in a corporate setting can be numerous: improving communication, developing collaboration, strengthening leadership, fostering trust, or improving teamwork.
As with any intervention, an important question arises:
Will integrating an animal bring real added value to this objective?
Why integrate an animal?
The animal reacts to the way we communicate.
It doesn’t respond to our intention, but to what it actually perceives: our posture, our energy, our consistency, our pace, our distance, or our gestures.
Interactions then become a laboratory where participants can experiment with different ways of communicating and immediately observe their effects.
This feedback is spontaneous, authentic, and free of judgment.
For these experiences to be rich, the choice of the animal partner is essential.
At Synergie Plumes et Poils, we prioritize an animal that is motivated to participate in interactions. An engaged partner allows for the creation of varied experiences while respecting its well-being, even as challenges evolve or multiple people interact with it.
A concrete example
Let’s take the example of a team that wants to improve its communication.
The goal of the workshop is to help participants adapt their communication based on their partner’s reactions rather than repeating the same strategy.
Before proposing challenges, the facilitator observes the natural interactions between the participants and the animal.
Some people talk a lot.
Others mainly use gestures.
Some naturally slow down their pace, while others rattle off instructions quickly.
Based on these observations, different challenges are proposed.
For example, a person must guide a dog through a simple course.
Throughout the activity, they are invited to observe the animal’s reactions.
Does the dog seem to understand?
Is it engaged?
Does it seem to hesitate?
Does it need the communication to be clearer, simpler, or more consistent?
Rather than repeating the same request, the participant experiments with different ways of communicating and observes their effects.
The goal is not to complete the course perfectly.
The goal is to discover that effective communication isn’t just about transmitting a message, but also about observing how it is received and adjusting accordingly.
Transfer to daily life
The lessons learned during interactions with the animal quickly find their place in the workplace.
Participants are invited to reflect:
Do you take the time to observe your colleagues’ reactions?
How do you know your message is well understood?
What could you adjust when communication doesn’t produce the desired effect?
This awareness often leads to improved exchanges, reduced misunderstandings, and more effective communication within the team.
Professional practice relies on quality training
Human-animal interactions offer tremendous potential, but they require much more than just the presence of an animal.
Professional practice requires understanding the organization’s goals, determining if the animal represents real added value, selecting an animal partner whose characteristics match the proposed activities, and building meaningful interactions.
It also requires recognizing the animal’s needs, preserving its well-being, and ensuring the safety of all involved.
Being a professional also means recognizing the limits of one’s field of practice and collaborating with other specialists when the organization’s needs require it.