As a result of questions a coach asks, or observations a coach offers, clients will often say something like; “I’ve never thought of ‘it’ (my situation or myself) in that way before.” “That’s a different way for me to look...
Category: #5 – Active Listening
Coaching client non-verbal information
As coaches, there are many things to be listening for as a client speaks, more than their words alone. This article explores some of the non-verbal communication to pay attention to, often also called client “somatic” information. Non-verbal information can...
Butterfly on the Wall Coaching Series
Have you ever wanted to be a "butterfly" on the wall hanging out (inconspicuously, of course) while an experienced coach is coaching their client? Here's a very rare, unique opportunity to get an insider's peek into the real relationship...
The What Who and How of Coaching
Every single coaching client (and their corporation) I’ve worked with over the past 21 years wants a result from our coaching. That’s a given in every coaching engagement. Yet the way we engage with our client makes a huge difference...
How do I know what my client really wants from their coaching session
From the title of this blog article, you might think that is a no-brainer of a question. Yet clarifying the client-driven coaching session outcome, is one of the most challenging core competencies for most coaches to master. If you don’t...
Curiosity and Interrupting the client are like oil and water
I’m often asked by my mentor coaching clients, how to stop clients who speak a lot, including if, how and when to interrupt a client. That’s a great inquiry! Here are some of my thoughts and different ideas, which have...
Improv-ing to better coaching skills
I wasn’t sure what I was going to write in this blog article. I had a general idea, and I trust the process of starting to type into a Word Document, with the intention of writing a short article that...
Helicopter coaching views
I’m always searching for new and interesting ways to describe coaching skills to the coaches I’m mentoring toward their ICF credential. This is one metaphor I’ve used for a while, so thought I’d share it here too. It involves a...
Normalizing Conflict
Hands up anyone who enjoys being in conflict with someone? Conflict is a serious disagreement or argument with someone where there is often a ‘winner’ and a loser’ mentality. Maybe some people enjoy conflict, yet for the majority of people,...
Coaching is like playing tennis…
I’ve recently been using this metaphor with mentoring clients, to convey how a coach engages with their client. Metaphor is a direct form of communication, as it cuts through a lot of words and mental churn. Through metaphor, our client...