6 Ways You Can Upgrade Your Coaching Questions

Powerful questions drive straight to the heart of the matter and stimulate deeper level thinking. They are timely, meeting the client where they are at and moving them toward the results they truly desire. Here are 6 ways you can structure your own thinking and your coaching conversations to maximize your time with clients and the resulting outcomes:

1. Start with some prep questions. 

Worried you won’t think of exactly the right thing at the right moment? All of us do. So set yourself up for success by beginning each coaching session with having given your client some food for thought ahead of time. This way, they come in prepared, and you’re off to a great start with your questions. 

2. Embrace simplicity

Often very simple questions are the most powerful. Think of Jesus asking his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Consider all that went into–and came out of–that powerful question. 

3. Practice listening skills. 

As your client is answering their prep questions or talking about their current barriers, listen carefully. What are you hearing? What are they not saying? Where are the holes? Often your observations from careful listening will provide you with the keys to know what to ask about next. 

4. Piggyback

Good open-ended questions open the door. If you are listening well, you can add in questions that piggyback off of the client’s response. “What else could you do?” “How can you leverage that?”  Piggybacking questions brings greater clarity, more ideas, and deeper conviction. 

5. Apply the 5 R’s

Practice easily moving back and forth between the 5Rs of coaching: relate, reflect, refocus, resource, and review. They don’t always go in order… pull the combinations you need at the time you need them. For a refresher on the 5Rs, see Christian Coaching Essentials. 

6. Pray always

Practice remaining in a place of prayer and discernment, even when circumstances and conversations threaten to throw you off track. Your greatest resource as a Christian coach is the Holy Spirit. Listen for his voice in the midst of all the other noise. And then don’t be afraid to follow it. 

Christian Coaching Essentials

If you need a refresher in the 5 R’s, there is no better tool than Christian Coaching Essentials*. The book offers solid and practical instruction in these key principles and contains links to Bonus Material to help you gain confidence and competency. Our very first Christian Coaching Essentials Cohort is underway! If you want to maximize your learning or even get hours for ICF, our next session begins Fall 2023! Learn more HERE.

Cover Photo by Edu Lauton on Unsplash

Photo by Jungwoo Hong on Unsplash

*Amazon Associate Link