Let intuition surface questions, then vet them with logic before you speak or act.

Shift attention to the other person to reduce overthinking and improve connection.

Quick resets like breath or posture shifts restore focus and sharpen perception.

In Part 3 of my conversation with Nil Demircubuk, Ph.D., author of Down to Earth: Demystify Intuition to Upgrade Your Life, we explore how intuition helps you decide whom to approach, what to pursue, and when to walk away in professional settings.

Networking advice can feel like theater: Polish your pitch, circulate the room, follow up fast. You’re not alone if you experience that as daunting before even the first handshake. In Part 1 of this series, we explored how to quiet mental noise and access intuition. In Part 2, we looked at workday resets and low-key boundary lines that protect focus. Now we turn outward.

What happens when intuition enters the room? Whether you’re at a conference, on an informational interview, or building alliances inside your company, connection requires clear choices, online or in person. Who seems aligned? Who deserves follow-up? When is a “no” wiser than a “yes”?

NA: Before a networking encounter, what discreet internal check can someone use to show up grounded and perceptive?

ND: One simple technique is to imagine that the air around you is filled with the qualities you would like to embody, such as calm, confident, and brilliant. Breathe deeply and slowly, and imagine that each inhale helps you absorb these qualities more and more. At each exhale, imagine letting go of anything you want to release, like tension and anxiety. Let them leave your body and neutralize in the air.

If this type of imagining feels too strange or difficult, an alternative is to set the intention of shifting your posture and demeanor toward the qualities that you want to embody at each in-breath and away from tension and anxiety at each out-breath. For example, you can try to stand more straight to embody confidence as you breathe in, and let your shoulders and neck relax as you breathe out.

NA: Both of those techniques help me feel present. When you’re in a networking conversation, how can intuition help in real time?

ND: Intuition can help you gauge the emotional and mental state of the person you are talking to and adjust your tone and language accordingly. You can tune in and listen more actively and deeply, including your intuition, and pay attention to what you are sensing beyond the words you hear. Asking questions is a great way to engage in any conversation. You can stop thinking hard for a moment about what to say and let your intuition bring forward a question that you might want to ask. You can check with your logic to make sure that it is relevant before blurting it out.

NA: You keep bringing us back to the importance of running your intuition through the filter of your logic. Networking often creates pressure to impress or promote yourself. How can intuition help shift from selling to connecting?

ND: When you notice your mind wandering into what you should say next, you can intentionally shift your focus to the person’s vocal tone, facial expression, and body language so you connect more deeply. Instead of constantly worrying about how to make a lasting impression, you can be in the moment and let the conversation unfold naturally.

NA: How can someone tell the difference between a true intuitive signal about a person and anxiety, projection, or bias?

ND: I would recommend a reset of conscious thinking and emotions, then checking in with your intuition again. You can do this reset in the moment by focusing on your breath for a few cycles and letting thoughts go, or by feeling your feet on the floor or ground or your weight on your seat. Alternatively, you can find something appealing to look at around you and just explore it for a few moments as you let your thoughts go. When you feel relaxed, you can ask your intuition what you sense about this person.

NA: Many professionals replay conversations afterward and second-guess themselves. What subtle signals might they notice during the interaction that could guide them more confidently?

ND: We need to be alert and notice subtle details, such as if the person is fully facing us or turning sideways. This can signal their level of interest in our conversation. We don’t have to think about these details consciously. Our intuition is excellent at reading such nonverbal cues naturally if we stop our mind chatter and pay attention.

Making eye contact is also important unless there is a specific reason preventing it. We can see so much in the other person’s eyes. That includes observing and letting our intuition pick up signs, such as the person’s eyes searching around for something more interesting. We can then adjust how we are delivering our message accordingly. That can entail making our point sooner if the person seems to be losing interest. The key is to stay focused and curious with an open mind and heart.

NA: Those techniques provide a valuable path to becoming present. Can intuition help us recognize early signs of misalignment in professional relationships? If so, how should we respond without overreacting?

ND: Yes, intuition is effective at detecting warning signals in our relationships. You can pause and quiet your conscious analysis by focusing on taking a few deep breaths, and then see how you feel about those relationships. This gets easier with practice. Meetings are ideal practice grounds for it. Try tuning into how your connection feels with each person in the room. You can adjust your communication to build or repair the bridge in these relationships if you catch warning signs early on. For example, if you sense an undertone of extra competitiveness with a colleague, you can look for ways to collaborate and thrive together.

NA: Dear readers, I hope you’ve benefited as much as I have by Nil Demircubuk’s simple yet powerful techniques to integrate our inner knowing with our logical mind.

Next in this series—we’ll widen the lens beyond networking and explore intuition about people more broadly: how we sense trust, misread signals, and decide who belongs in our professional circle.

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