During a coaching session, a Professional Coach uses a range of coaching skills, including asking the client clarifying and discovery oriented questions, giving back their summaries or comments to the client, and offering observations, sensing or intuitive thoughts or feelings...
Category: U #4 – Cultivates Trust and Safety
Partners with the client to create a safe, supportive environment that allows the client to share freely. Maintains a relationship of mutual respect and trust.
Let the client do the work
A common saying in coach training programs is that coaches ask questions, and offer observations, yet it’s the client who does “the work.” Along with another common saying; that coaches believe their clients to be “whole, resourceful and capable, and...
Coaching Client Identity
Especially in recent years, there’s been heightened focus on Identity. Yet Identity has been part of societies for every generation, in all cultures of the world. Whether it’s based in political, religious, racial, gender or age differences (to name a...
The flow of a coaching conversation
A coaching conversation is a conversation with a purpose, being a client-determined topic and outcome for each coaching session. Professional Coaches are trained in how to structure a coaching session, so there is maximum opportunity for the client to gain...
Acknowledging your coaching client
As professionally trained coaches, we learn the important coaching skill of acknowledging the client for their “work” in the coaching process. However Acknowledging as a Coaching Skill has broader application, as defined in five of the ICF Core Competencies which...
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...
Coaching verbally expressive clients
Every coach has a client who is verbally expressive, which means the client often speaks for longer periods at a time. The coach says something and the client then speaks again for a long time, which could be 5 -...
Coaching emotions and feelings
Have you noticed that your emotions, and the emotions of others, are "raw" in 2020? I imagine you'd think that is a silly question. Yes, of course! That emotions are raw is no surprise as we are globally in circumstances that...
Shifting three common training techniques to coaching approaches
Every coach training program has its “flavor” of what they teach coaching students. While the intention is good to use “tools and techniques” (I’ve shortened to T&Ts in this article) in support of client awareness, these are often used from...
Types of trust in a coaching relationship
Note: This article has been updated in 2023. When we engage in coach training, we often hear the idea that our client has all the answers within them and our role is to help them get in touch with those...