Coaches – Crafting Better Questions Part 1

In this first series of blogs I want to give you some tips that will take you from asking GOOD questions to asking BETTER questions. The examples of what I’m going to discuss come from years of listening to many coach-the-coach sessions, critiquing them, and finding that there are many things that can stand improvement. Many of the questions coaches ask are not horrible, but they could definitely be better. These tips will help you elevate your coaching by giving you better skills and practices.

In this first post I want to focus on a coach’s tendency to want to provide the answers for the questions they ask their clients. I’ve seen so many coaches ask a good question to their client, but then they follow it with their own possible answer. They follow-up their question with add-on thoughts or an explanation about the question. This is unnecessary because your question will stand well enough on its own.

For example, some coaches will ask a question like, "So how do you want to proceed? Like, do you want to call him or do you want to email him or what? What do you think you want to do?” Better to just ask “How do you want to proceed?”

Or some coaches will say, “So, who did you want to ask help from? Because if you ask someone for help, that will offload some of your work and you'll have more free time to be a better leader. So who do you want to ask?” Better to just ask “Who would you like to ask for help?”

What the coach has done is worked way too hard and the question has gotten lost in the mix. Just ask the question. One question and no need for explanation. I know that may seem hard and maybe even incomplete, especially if you're a new coach. But I promise you, if you simply ask the question, it's going to land so much more powerfully. This takes practice, so be kind to yourself because it's a normal tendency to feel like you need to make sure people understand what you're talking about. I get it. However, just ask the question. Stay tuned for many more tips on crafting better questions.

About the Author ?

Jennifer Powers is an ICF Master Certified Coach and founder of Powerhouse Coaching. Powerhouse Coaching specializes in helping coaches attain their ICF credential. They offer 10-hour Group Mentor Coaching Classes for coaches wanting to attain or renew their ACC, PCC or MCC ? credentialing from the International Coaching Federation . Powerhouse Coaching also offers 75 hour ICF Level 3 Master Certified Coach courses to coaches wanting to move from PCC to MCC. Professional coaches can also join the Powerhouse Coaching Club which features skill building and business building for an international community of coaches.?Learn more at www.phcoach.com.