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How to hold powerful coaching Conversations (Examples & Script Template)

Aug 17, 2022

Coaching conversations are a powerful transformational leadership skill. Find out how to conduct the perfect coaching session using this example.

Nowadays, numerous companies are moving towards creating what's known as a"coaching culture. The aim is to empower, encourage and teach with a dialogue between the employees and their managers.

Creating a coaching culture helps the organization to move away from dictating what steps need to be followed to address specific issues and challenges. This creates a unique culture that includes two-way conversations in order to establish goals and decide an appropriate course of course of action.

The theory is that once enough people within an organization are taught to have discussions with coaches, the whole organizational structure begins to change. As a result, the environment becomes one where people are willing to discuss their thoughts and suggestions for improvement openly. This in turn increases morale in the whole organization.

No matter if you're a professional trainer or an employee or manager, anyone would benefit from learning the basics of techniques for coaching. In this post we'll look at how you can hold an effective coaching conversation and offer some sample the types of questions you can discuss during your own coaching sessions.

What is the key to a successful coach-talking conversation?

Effective coaching sessions begin with asking questions that are relevant and pertinent. If you can ask the correct asking questions to coaches, you can help people gain an understanding of the issues they're dealing with. Conversations with coaches are an excellent way to reinforce people's strengths and help others assume responsibility for their actions, improvement, and overall achievement.

Coaching conversations can be held in formal settings, such as a coaching session or employee review. In contrast, more short and informal meetings can be held in the elevator, during lunchtime or on the corridor.

The first step to holding an effective coaching session is to be sure the person you are about to enter into a conversation with is open to giving and receiving feedback. Not all conversations lend themselves to coaching situations, which is why it's crucial to start by asking questions like these:

  •    "Can you help me walk through an concept?"  
  •    "If you have a minute, I'd love to have something run by the."  
  •    "Are you willing to receive feedback on X"  

When you begin a discussion with your coach with questions similar to those mentioned above, you are preparing yourself for receiving feedback on the idea you're planning to share. Additionally, you can prepare other participants for scenarios where you'll probably be giving the feedback.

The three key ingredients to any successful coaching conversation

Three key elements to any coaching conversation are to approach it from a place of optimism, cooperation and encouragement. This means entering into conversations with a non-judgmental attitude and focusing your eyes on the larger effect rather than the specific responses within the discussion.

  1. Positivity

It's crucial to approach each coaching session from a place of positivity. It allows you to remain flexible to different goals and outcomes without any preconceived ideas of what the outcome will be. Be positive and you will avoid the natural tendency of people to be defensive and take things personally in a dialogue.

  2. Collaboration

Collaboration is the key element in any coaching conversation because it allows learning opportunities for both parties by having a dialogue that is two-way. Collaborative means being interested of what the other would like to hear. It also means staying present and open to what the other person has to say.

  3. Support

In the end, it is essential that coaching discussions come from a place of support. It's about giving each other your complete attention and focus, which may require the taking of a few minutes ahead of your session with your coach to put aside any worries or difficulties.

5 Tips for creating better coaching discussions

These 5 tips will help you have more impactful and effective coaching sessions.

  1. Listen intently

When you are having a conversation with a coach it is essential to pay attention. Beware of interruptions as well as our natural tendency to fill uncomfortable gaps or silences by using phrases.

The best rule of thumb is the 90/10 rule. This implies that you spend 90 percent of your conversation listening and less than 10% speaking. Make sure you ask one inquiry at a time instead of stacking a number of questions. Also, it is important to start the conversation with an open mind and the ability to listen without making assumptions regarding the outcome of the conversation.

  2. Retrospective

Reflecting back means summarizing the information you received to make sure that you correctly understood the person with whom you're conversing. Reflect during conversations with coaches to gain insight and clarity into the message that another person wants to convey. One way to accomplish this is to pose questions such as:

  •    " What I've heard you say is ......."  
  •    "Am I hearing the right thing? You said ...."  
  •    "It seems like you're saying that ..."  

Then, pause and wait for the answer of the other. You can either ask them to say yes, or go on to tell the truth about what they said.

  3. Be curious

Being genuinely curious about what someone else has to tell them allows them to freely share their ideas more freely. If people are able to freely express their thoughts, they often reach their own conclusions about the best plan of action.

Make sure you practice asking easy but effective questions like:

  •    "What might happen if you explored this more?"  
  •    "Is there something that is hindering you from trying it day-to-day?"  
  •    "What steps do you need to take for that to happen?"  

If you can ask straightforward and important questions, it can get people thinking and solving problems but without the feeling that you've just handed an answer.

  3. Do not try to force your opinions on others.

Often when someone asks us to provide feedback, our first instinct is to find a solution. To hold an effective coaching dialogue, we must break away from that human tendency. Instead, the focus lies in ensuring that the individual who is in front of you feels heard. This requires the ability to take your thoughts out of discussion. You can practice saying things like:

  •    "Your smile indicates that you're really excited about this, am I correct?"  
  •    "How do you feel? the you Feel?"  
  •    "What comes up for you when you think about trying that?"  

  5. Make time to takeaway meals

In every conversation with a coach be sure to reserve time so that you can give time for your coachee to determine what steps they'll follow up on following your discussion. It is possible to do this by setting 5-10 minutes aside at the end of your discussion and ask questions that include:

  •    "What phase are you most excited to begin?"  
  •    "What three steps will you take towards your goal for this week?"  
  •    "What had the biggest effect on you in the last year?"  
  •    "What two points do you take away from the conversation you just had?"  

The creation of a coaching discussion template

This is a rough model for a 1-hour coaching session. Be aware that each coaching meeting is unique. However, when you're first learning to hold coaching conversations, a rough template and timeline can be aiding your coaching sessions stay on task.

  1. Distinguishing the purpose of the conversation for 5-10 minutes  

Ask questions like:

  •    "Does it still seem important to discuss today?"  
  •    "You have mentioned that you would like to discuss X Is that right?"  
  •    "Are you open to feedback on X?"  

  Second Step: Uncover problems and challenges: 30-40 minutes  

Ask questions like:

  •    "What I can hear you saying is ..."  
  •    "How does this make your Feel?"  
  •    "Is there an area in which you can see improvement?"  

  Step 3: Set goals 5-10 minutes  

Ask questions like:

  •    "What would you change in the event that you could?"  
  •    "How could we improve upon X"  
  •    "Do you have any tips? "

  Step 4: Identify the key takeaways and actions to be taken 5-10 minutes  

Ask questions like:

  •    "What next step should you start with?"  
  •    "What 3 lessons can you learn from today's conversation?"  
  •    What steps are you looking forward to taking next week?"  

For more insight into holding powerful coaching conversations We recommend Jerry Connor & Karim Hirani's book the four greatest coaching conversations .

After you've learned how to conduct effective conversation with your coach, why not spread your expertise to the world. Let more people understand the impact of holding conversation with coaching by taking an online class.

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