Haesun Moon
Communication Scientist
About Haesun Moon
Haesun Moon is a communication scientist and a leading expert in the study of language in coaching and leadership. As a “pracademic”—bridging the gap between rigorous research and real-world practice—she teaches at the University of Toronto and serves as Director of the Canadian Centre for Brief Coaching.
Dr. Moon’s work investigates the hidden mechanics of how we speak, listen, and shape meaning. She is best known for developing the Dialogic Orientation Quadrant (DOQ) and using Microanalysis of Face-to-Face Dialogue (MFD) to help professionals monitor their impact in real time. Her research on Interfluence—the moment-by-moment shaping of agency—is the foundation of her advanced course, Interfluence in Action, which she teaches at the Institute of Coaching (McLean, Affiliate of Harvard Medical School).
She is the author of Coaching A–Z: The Extraordinary Use of Ordinary Words and co-author of Thriving Women, Thriving World. Her upcoming work, The Habit of Better, challenges the “efficiency narratives” of leadership and invites us to examine how we construct the very idea of “better” in our everyday lives.
As the saying goes in communication studies, there’s always a gap between what’s said and what’s heard. Even the most meticulously prepared phrases may fall flat, or some unintended comments may lead to a breakthrough. Most of us work from what we think took place in a conversation rather than what actually took place, and that gap is where coaching either moves or stalls. This keynote shows how to see into it. Drawing on the microanalysis of real coaching dialogue and the Dialogic Orientation Quadrant (DOQ), a simple map now used by coaches in 46 countries, we will look closely at the ordinary words that do the extraordinary work. With this map, a coach can design a conversation on purpose and valuate it on evidence rather than impression. You will leave a closer observer of your own coaching, with a usable way to move intention into impact. This session builds on the listening compass introduced in the keynote. We will work hands-on (or feet-on) with the Dialogic Orientation Quadrant, the research-grounded tool introduced in the keynote, learning to hear where a coaching conversation is oriented and how it got there. Using short transcripts and live examples from instructional coaching, you will practice catching what a teacher wants more of, often tucked quietly inside a worry, and finding the next word that helps them get there. You will leave with a simple way to listen to your own coaching, and a handful of phrases you can carry into your very next conversation.Keynote Address
Leaning into the Future: Communication Scientist’s Guide to Wayfinding
Breakout Session
Moving the Map: A Hands-on Session with the Dialogic Orientation Quadrant (DOQ)