Radical Connectedness

mail99615
Jul 1
3 min read

Updated: Jul 1

How Inner, Social, and Global Awareness Shape Our Communication

By Julia Romanova

Body Language and Voice Coach

1 July 2025

Imagine you’re riding through the city on your way to the office. Your first meeting is starting soon, and the people in the cars and on bikes around you seem to be in a similar rush.

Luckily, you’ve caught the green wave! But at the next intersection, the light turns red — a good moment to review the meeting agenda in your head!

While mentally debating the final agenda item, the light turns green again. You’re about to pedal — but suddenly, an old lady with a walker steps in front of you, trying to cross the street. What is your reaction?

Well, there are countless possibilities: maybe you help her, maybe you steer around her, or worse.

To predict your response, let’s consider these questions:

How far is it to the office?
Is this meeting especially important?
Are the drivers around you honking?
Did you have breakfast?
Did you sleep well last night?
How was your morning conversation with your spouse, roommate, or child?
And — does this old lady resemble a teacher you had trouble with in school?

We could go on, but you get the idea. The way we respond to the outside world is a synergy of physical, mental, and emotional states. But that’s not the whole story. What if I told you that this dynamic plays out across three interconnected layers: personal, social, and environmental? Sounds intriguing? Welcome to “Radical Connectedness”!

In a time of growing populism, social division, technological disruption, and climate crisis, feelings of misunderstanding and disconnection are quick to arise. We need a new way to navigate this uncertain, volatile world — a way that focuses on connection instead of separation.

The good news is: this way already exists.

Personal

From birth, we are in tune with our bodies: we touch, explore, make strange noises, and we know, instinctively, that sweet milk tastes better than spinach. We learn to avoid hot plates and sharp knives (often through painful experiences).

As we grow, we become aware of our own desires and thoughts, our strengths and potential. We learn what energizes us and what drains us. We develop a relationship with ourselves, and under the right circumstances, this connection deepens over time.

Social

Our connection to a community — whether family or caregivers — is just as fundamental. As we grow, the number of social groups we engage with multiplies. These groups don't just coexist — they influence each other.

In other words, the way you interact with your colleagues may echo patterns you've learned from your family or school friends. At the same time, these current interactions feed back into your family life, friendships, or hobby circles.

Most of us are aware of these social connections, and many of us invest time, energy, and even money to nurture and maintain them.

Environmental

Our sense of connection to broader society — or even to humanity as a whole — is often less immediate. We might feel it during elections, when watching the news, while traveling, or when reading a book by someone who lived centuries ago. Still, this layer of connection is always present.

People who attend religious services or practice yoga often feel this invisible web of interconnection. But so do politicians, brokers, and especially negotiators. At Rational Games, we believe that a good negotiator seeks sustainable outcomes and stands for something beyond short-term wins. Read more in our article The Art of the Hollow Deal.

True negotiation requires connection — not just to your goals, but also to everything beneath the surface: your counterpart’s motivations, emotions, culture, personality, and more. And with that goes empathy - a deeper understanding of what is driving the behavior of the other side, especially if we think it is getting in the way of a win-win result.

Can you visualize these three layers of “Radical Connectedness”?

Let’s return to our opening scenario — the old lady at the crosswalk. How do you feel about it now? How would you react, even if you’re tired, hungry, and stressed?

We all get triggered, especially in high-pressure situations. What gives us strength and freedom is a conscious connection to ourselves, to others, and to the world around us.

I call this connection radical because it is, ironically, non-negotiable. It exists whether we are aware of it or not. All we really need is to recognize it and choose to live from it.