Submodule 10.3 – Techniques to Start and Close a Session
Embarking on a coaching session with a sense of purpose and concluding it with a sense of completion are two skills that significantly contribute to the effectiveness of the coaching process. This submodule focuses on the strategies and techniques coaches can employ to ensure that both the beginning and the end of a session provide a structured, thoughtful, and impactful experience for their clients.
Starting a Session with Presence involves the coach being fully mentally and emotionally attuned to the client from the moment the session begins. Techniques such as a few moments of centered breathing or a grounding exercise can be employed. An illustrative story might involve a coach who begins each session with a brief mindfulness exercise, leading to more focused and productive sessions.
Setting a Clear Agenda early on is essential for guiding the session’s course. It shapes the session’s dialogue and ensures that the coach and client are working towards the same objectives. Coaches can recount how working collaboratively with clients to set the session’s agenda has prevented misunderstandings and maximized the session’s value.
Priming the Client for the session involves activating their readiness to engage with the coaching material. Using creative questions or inspirational quotes to stimulate thinking can be instrumental in this process. An example from coaching practice could demonstrate how a well-chosen question prompted a client to think deeply about their motivations, setting the stage for transformative conversation.
Closing with Action and Reflection entails summarizing the session’s content and collaborating on the next steps. Ensuring that clients leave with clear, actionable goals, and some reflective questions to ponder, helps maintain progress between sessions. Narratives might showcase clients who effectively actioned and reflected on their sessions, reinforcing their learning and commitment to change.
Obtaining Feedback before session closure helps to adjust future sessions according to the client’s needs and preferences. It allows clients to voice their thoughts about the session’s effectiveness and what they found most beneficial. Anecdote might detail the iterative improvements made to a coaching series after regular session-end feedback.
Reinforcing Session Takeaways can involve quick, efficient methods for clients to remember key insights and homework assignments. This may be through visual reminders like follow-up emails summarizing pointers discussed or quick recap voice messages sent post-session. This can be exemplified through a client who achieved clearer and faster progress because of the concise, written takeaway summaries they received after each meeting.
Key Takeaways:
– Employ presence exercises at the start to orient both coach and client.
– Work collaboratively to set a clear agenda, shaping the session’s direction.
– Use priming techniques to prepare the client for deep engagement during the session.
– Summarize and determine actionable steps and reflective questions at the close.
– Collect feedback at the end of each session to cater to continuous improvement.
– Provide clients with session summaries or recaps for sustained impact and recall.
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