Training

This story was contributed by Tapash, Training Manager, Blue Lotus PR.

Training with animals

December 2007 shall be remembered for several reasons, one of them being our most fun-filled and rewarding offsite ever. To the best of our knowledge, this was India’s first ever Corporate Equine and Canine Training on verbal and non-verbal communication.

Those of us who knew about the program were dying to attend it. Most, however, didn’t have a clue. Like every other offsite, this too was a well-kept secret, though keeping it that way wasn’t exactly easy. Knowing that there were people who were scared of dogs made me wonder whether they would even get close to them. But to my complete surprise, they formed such a bond with the animals that it was difficult to drag them away in the end.

The uniqueness of the program comes from the fact that it was the first time ever that animals were used to impart lessons in communication in the corporate context. History is proof that we have always tried to domesticate animals for our benefit and teach them to understand what we want to communicate.

As we say, there is a carrot and stick method to motivate one to either carry out or abstain from certain acts. We can conclude from our experience that when we use the punishment method people react more out of fear than free will; at the same time the carrot method when used effectively makes people act out of their own free will.

We saw how Rohan reads the body language of the horses, which gives him those vital seconds to react to these magnificent creatures. This stands good for humans as well as once we start recognising non-verbal clues from fellow humans, we instinctively know what course of action to follow.

People have so loved the exprience, that many have already made their plans to visit the place again.