Design for Emotional Presence

This month’s field note invites us to slow down, get centered, and create space for meaningful learning.

📓 Field Note: Grounding, Mindfulness, and Centering
📍 Sparked by: Back-to-back newsletters: here and here.
💡 Big idea: Emotional awareness isn’t extra; it’s part of great learning design.

Before We Begin

I discovered the Headspace meditation app during the year-that-shall-not-be-named, and for the past five years, I’ve relied on it not just for meditation, but for breathwork, movement, music, and sleep support. One of the biggest takeaways? The power of mindfulness.

Starting in mid-August, I noticed multiple reminders in my inbox and feed about meditation, affirmations, breathwork, and grounding. That’s when it clicked: it’s back-to-school season, and stress levels are often high for educators, students, and families. No wonder we’re seeing a surge of support strategies.

One of my most powerful experiences with these types of techniques came during a Monday morning webinar in May 2020. My colleague Nancy (now a certified yoga instructor) led participants through a grounding exercise to open the session, and amidst the turmoil of that moment, it was exactly what we needed. That moment has stayed with me.

Lately, I’ve been wondering how to more intentionally incorporate these calming, focusing strategies into my own work: before presentations, during transition moments, and as part of the learning experiences I design. But first, I had to untangle the terms. (As my friend Erika often reminds me, once we can name something, we can do it with intention!)

Here’s what I’ve learned:

• Grounding brings us back to the present moment, especially during overwhelm or stress. It anchors us in what is real, physical, and immediate. (5-4-3-2-1 is a common technique.)

• Mindfulness encourages non-judgmental awareness of our thoughts, sensations, and emotions. It’s about noticing what is happening inside and around us.

• Centering aligns us with our inner purpose and values. It’s often used before an important moment to feel grounded and purposeful.

Last month’s newsletter was all about switching gears and the importance of changing states. This month, we’re exploring what it means to feel calm, connected, and present and how these states can elevate the learning experience for ourselves and others.

Why Emotions Matter in Leading and Learning

After noticing this pattern of grounding strategies appearing everywhere, I turned to my trusted Readwise highlights and uncovered a treasure trove of powerful ideas.

Jared Cooney Horvath writes in Stop Talking, Start Influencing,

And that simple truth is echoed across the research:
Before we can foster learning in others, we must be in touch with ourselves.

The science is clear: our emotional state shapes how we perceive, interact, and teach. When educators pause to notice, regulate, or realign their emotions, whether through grounding, mindfulness, or centering, they’re not just caring for themselves. They’re enhancing the entire learning environment.

Here are just a few of the quotes that resurfaced in my research.

• When we recognize and manage our emotions, we enhance our impact on students, teams, and families. (Educator Wellness)

• Positive emotions expand our thinking, allowing us to take in more information, connect ideas, and see new possibilities. (Feel-Good Productivity)

• Negative emotions, if unregulated, reduce teacher effectiveness, interaction quality, and student engagement. (Permission to Feel)

• Emotional agility is a process that allows you to be in the moment, changing or maintaining your behaviors to live in ways that align with your intentions and values. (Emotional Agility)

• Emotional self-awareness helps us lead and teach with clarity instead of reactivity. (Search Inside Yourself)

Ultimately, emotions are not interruptions to learning, they are part of it. When we integrate short, purposeful practices that ground, center, or quiet the mind at the start of a session (or really, any part of the experience!) we do more than create calm. We’re setting the stage for deeper reflection, empathy, and meaningful learning.

🫶 Emotional Presence in Practice

When designing professional learning, we often obsess over content, timing, and activities, but how we begin emotionally matters just as much. Starting with a moment of grounding, centering, or mindful awareness helps both you and your participants arrive, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally.

For You, the Facilitator: Center with Purpose

In one of the newsletters linked above, Elena Aguilar shares a simple practice she uses before every coaching conversation. She takes a few slow breaths and asks herself:

Michael Bungay Stanier, in How to Work with (Almost) Anyone, offers a similar intention-setting practice:

On presentation days, especially when I’m feeling a little nervous and over-excited, I often revisit a short Headspace presentation meditation. Just a few minutes of breath and presence helps me slow down and reconnect to my purpose. It changes how I show up.

These practices remind us that emotional presence is part of professional presence.

Before we focus on outcomes, agendas, or slides, we can choose how we want to be.

For Your Participants:

I’m a longtime fan of Project Zero and Ron Ritchhart’s protocols for making thinking visible, and their site is a goldmine for strategies that elevate learning. This one, shared with me by my friend Laura, is a new favorite.

Creating Space for Learning is a simple reflective routine designed to reduce cognitive overload, acknowledge emotions, and gently transition into meaningful learning. The protocol is originally written for classroom use, but easily it’s adapted for adult learners.

I first used this strategy on a Monday after spring break, knowing participants might be a bit distracted or drained. We took just two quiet minutes to pause, and the energy in the room shifted. Everyone leaned in, just a little more.

✍️ The Routine

• Take a few deep breaths

• Notice what’s on your mind right now

• Set aside thoughts or feelings that aren’t useful

• Center what matters most at this moment

I’ve returned to this routine often: after holidays, following lunch, or on emotionally charged days. It’s always well-received, and participants frequently mention how helpful it felt to slow down and reset before diving into content.

Last month’s newsletter focused on energizing the room. This month focuses on centering the emotions so participants feel safe, steady, and ready to learn.

Both of these practices remind us to prioritize well-being, honor our emotional selves, and design with purpose, even in small moments.

I’d Love to Hear

What helps you feel centered before a session? Do you use centering routines like this one with participants? If so, I’d love to hear what’s working for you or what you’re hoping to try.

Hit reply and let me know, or forward this post to an EduFriend who values designing with intention.

Noting, reflecting, connecting,
Kathryn

PS: Want to learn more about designing intentional learning experiences? I’m facilitating a new webinar series, Gather with Intention, in partnership with Learning Forward Texas and Learning Forward Florida. Sessions begin on October 9th, and you can find the details and register here. ✨

Reflecting • Connecting • Refining

📓 Why Field Notes?

This newsletter is inspired by the idea of self-anthropology from Tiny Experiments by Anne-Laure Le Cunff. Just like field notes help researchers make sense of what they observe, these monthly reflections help me capture ideas, tools, and questions from my own work designing professional learning. I share them here in the spirit of experimentation, connection, and ongoing refinement.

🤖 AI helped polish this post, but the ideas, intention, curation, and care are all mine.