We’ve all been there: our client comes to coaching and present with something supre vague, like feeling more fulfilled, calmer, wanting a “better mindset”, or feeling more authentic. How might we work with something like that? Can we make such a goal more SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound)? Is that even desirable or of service to the client? In this episode our resident coaches Siawash, Nicki and Yannick discuss various ways to work with abstract goals, whether tha...
Apr 07, 2022•16 min•Season 1Ep. 45
Most of us have been there: our clients are not hitting their targets, they’re not doing their work, in some way or another they’re not achieving what they came to coaching for. Is this your fault? The client’s? Do any of you need to work harder? How do you address this? In this episode of talking about coaching our residents Yannick, Siawash and Nicki are exploring how we might navigate such situations. We talk about contracting, how to make sure that your client is getting what they want, or p...
Mar 17, 2022•21 min•Season 1Ep. 44
Steve Chandler and his disciples teach us that coaching clients are created through conversations, and they encourage us to seek as many conversations as we can with the intent to serve whomever we talk to. Now what happens when we run out of people to talk to? Somewhat rephrased for the sake of space in today’s episode’s title, the original question for today is: “I ran out of people to talk to about coaching. How can I create more conversations that may lead to paying clients?” Siawash starts ...
Mar 03, 2022•21 min•Season 1Ep. 43
In this episodes we’re discussing leading questions, and whether they’re really a big no-no, as often taught in coach training programmes, or whether there may be some value in offering direction as a coach, or even to ask questions in a way that makes the client think they’ve come up with the solution themselves, empowering in some way, manipulative if you look at it differently. We discuss the range of leading questions, the ethics of consciously leading your clients, the weight of taking on t...
Feb 17, 2022•27 min•Season 1Ep. 42
Most coaches have experienced this: we’re with a friend, they tell us about a problem, dream or challenge they experience, and before we know it we’ve got our coaching hat on and asking questions, feeding back, clarifying, summarising or applying a process to help them figure this out. We likely didn’t ask for permission to coach them. We may be quite different with our coaching hat on and our friend somewhat irritated. Possibly they know us like that because we aren’t ‘doing’ coaching, we ARE c...
Feb 03, 2022•15 min•Season 1Ep. 41
Some coaches set themselves up as the expert in a certain area or niche. Others work very hard to meet their clients at eye level as to facilitate a process in which they can create their own expertise and take full responsibility for the way forward. And by no means is this a black-and-white issue in coaching. Sometimes the client maneuvers us into a position of expert as to avoid responsibility or simply because expert advice is what they’re after. It can be a complex dynamic to navigate. In t...
Jan 20, 2022•24 min•Season 1Ep. 40
What started as a joke question after Nicki missed our last recording session became an interesting question about when to cancel a coaching session due to pain, feeling unwell or other distractions that may prevent us from being fully present with our clients. How much can we keep in our metaphorical box? At what point is it no longer appropriate to coach? How might we have that conversation? What’s at stake when we a) cancel or b) go ahead with the session? Do we need to disclose what’s going ...
Dec 11, 2021•16 min•Season 1Ep. 39
We hear this a lot from the coaches who are most visible on social media: In order to be successful you must be obsessed with coaching and/or with building a business. You must do the grind if you want to make it. Those who work the hardest are the most successful. Coaches who are obsessed with helping their clients, with personal development or with a particular style of coaching, those will be successful. It is often implied that those who are not obsessed or work 14 hours/day won’t make it. I...
Nov 11, 2021•31 min•Season 1Ep. 38
Good contracting may be one of the most important skills of a successful coach. Most times when a coach feels stuck with a client, doesn’t know how to proceed or encounters a challenging situation, the answers lies in what you’ve agreed with this client. In this episodes of the podcast our resident coaches Yannick and Siawash talk about whether the contract needs to be written or verbal, we propose a range of topics we might want to (should?) include in this conversations (beyond logistics, fina...
Oct 14, 2021•30 min•Season 1Ep. 37
Welcome to this episode of Talking about Coaching, the podcast from coaches for coaches. This episode is one of Yannick's deep dives into one topic or person and we're talking to Ankush Jain, 6 figure coach, trained in the 3 principles approach, long term coaching client and colleague of the great Steve Chandler, and all-round excellent human being. I loved Ankush's vibe and found resonating with most of what he talks about. We had a wonderfully warm and inspiring conversation and I hope you'll ...
Sep 05, 2021•1 hr 36 min•Season 1Ep. 37
What’s your process for starting a coaching session? is a question we hear often. “Well, it depends” is often the answer. And that’s also the way this episode starts. Our resident coaches Yannick, Siwash & Nicki are illuminating what these factors are and talk you through how they start coaching sessions. Plus we’re inviting all listeners to share their own processes of how to jump into a coaching session with a client. See also: Episode 19 - How do you prepare for a coaching session? Episod...
Sep 02, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 36
We’ve interpreted this question in two ways: 1) What do I need to start practicing as a coach? And 2) When a client signs up for coaching, what might I send them to get going and transition well into the process of coaching? So here we are talking about beginnings and how might get going when starting our coaching business or when starting to work with a new client. _____ If you'd like to stay up to date with new episodes, continue the conversation or generally support what we do: Send us your q...
Aug 19, 2021•24 min•Season 1Ep. 35
So many coaches dread doing “marketing”, being visible on social media, figuring out advertising, or going to network events, only to create a steady stream of clients for their coaching business. While there is no way around building bridges or creating touch points of some sort between you and prospective clients, there are many ways to do this, and in today’s episode our resident coaches Yannick & Siawash are talking about different pathways towards creating a steady flow of conversations...
Aug 05, 2021•12 min•Season 1Ep. 34
Last episode we talked about why every coach can (even should) be confident about charging for the space they create for their clients. “Just” being there for and with them, offering our undivided attention, helps greatly and often works wonders. However, many coaches are keen to increase their prices but don’t feel confident about it. In this episode our resident coaches Yannick & Siawash are picking up the thread from the conversation we’ve started and talking about the many factors that p...
Jul 22, 2021•34 min•Season 1Ep. 33
Welcome to this episode of Talking about Coaching, the podcast from coaches for coaches. This episode is one of Yannick's deep dives into one topic or person and we're talking to Georgie Nightingall, founder of Trigger Conversations and transformational life coach. I love Georgie's inspired thinking, the way she deeply contemplates and reflects and how she's learned to strike up conversations with strangers (which is a GOLDEN skill when it comes to creating a successful coaching practice. We're ...
Jul 09, 2021•2 hr 9 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Lots of coaches would like to charge more for their coaching, but don’t feel confident that they’re worth the money. This can have a variety of reasons such as our own money stories, what the word “sell” means to us, and often a lack of some basic technical skills with regards to how we talk to our clients and how we run consultations. We believe every coach can (even should) be confident about charging for their time and the space they create for their clients. “Just being there” for and with t...
Jul 01, 2021•19 min•Season 1Ep. 32
Even before we were hit with a global pandemic, coaching while walking, walk’n’talk, coaching in nature and other forms of being outside of a coaching “room” have sparked our interest. Now, more than ever, coaching clients outside has become relevant to many coaches. That’s why in this episode our resident coaches Yannick, Siawash and Nicki are discussing the benefits and pitfalls of coaching clients while walking. Done well your clients are in their bodies and there’s lots to be picked up on on...
Jun 17, 2021•13 min•Season 1Ep. 31
A surprising majority of coaches we talk to regularly go over the agreed time for their coaching sessions. At the very least it happens occasionally. In therapy it’s a big no-go! Coaches seem to be a lot more relaxed about this, some even plan going over time into their contract and are more flexible. What we do know is that it affects our relationship and the boundaries we create in some form or another, and so in today’s episode our resident coaches Yannick Jacob, Siawash Zahmat and Nicki Drab...
Jun 03, 2021•27 min•Season 1Ep. 30
No decent coach enjoys making their clients uncomfortable. And yet, in order to grow fast, our clients often need to leave their comfort zone and venture into uncharted territory. An important part of the process is for the coach to offer questions and observations that may challenge the client’s beliefs or worldview. Many coaches, especially at the beginning of their journey, shy away from challenging confidently and to offer this in a way that’s productive. In this episode our resident coaches...
May 20, 2021•23 min•Season 1Ep. 29
This episode is one of Yannick's deep dives into one topic or person. We're talking to Sasha van Deurzen Smith, existential coach, Programme Leader of the MA in Existential Coaching at the New School for Psychotherapy and Counselling, daughter of Emmy van Deurzen and one of the first coaches with a Masters in Existential Coaching. We've got a lot to talk about and we hope you'll enjoy our philosophical and yet very practical musings on coaching. Join or continue the conversation over on Facebook...
May 10, 2021•2 hr 13 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Many coaches carry the weight of feeling responsible for their clients’ success (or lack thereof). We hear about this often in supervision. When it takes longer than planned for their clients to reach their goal or they get frustrated along the way, many coaches ask: Could I have done more? What did I do wrong so that this client doesn’t achieve what they set out to do? What if they ask for their money back or leave me a bad review? Am I good enough? What else can I do to get them to move forwar...
May 06, 2021•29 min•Season 2Ep. 28
What is effective coaching? And what does an effective coaching session look like? How would you structure a session for an effective outcome? What’s the process? Much of the answers to these questions depend on individual context, but effective coaching also has many elements in common. In this episode of Talking about Coaching our resident coaches Yannick, Siawash and Nicki discuss their takes on effective coaching, how structure provides safety for clients and coaches alike, and why particula...
Apr 22, 2021•26 min•Season 1Ep. 27
This episode is one of Yannick's deep dives into one topic or person. We're talking to Eric Larson, coach of 15 years and with over 10.000 hours on his back. We're exploring the importance of play in coaching both as a technique as well as a rich metaphor for how people approach life. We talk about finite games, infinite games, how to figure out the "rules" and lots more. Join or continue the conversation over on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/talkingaboutcoaching If you want to see E...
Apr 20, 2021•2 hr 21 min•Season 2Ep. 4
What is effective coaching? And what does an effective coaching session look like? How would you structure a session for an effective outcome? What’s the process? Much of the answers to these questions depend on individual context, but effective coaching also has many elements in common. In this episode of Talking about Coaching our resident coaches Yannick, Siawash and Nicki discuss their takes on effective coaching, how structure provides safety for clients and coaches alike, and why particula...
Mar 13, 2021•26 min•Season 1Ep. 27
When the CoViD-19 pandemic peaked in 2020, most coaches started working exclusively online, and so our resident coaches Yannick, Siawash and Nicki decided to share some of their most asked-about tips and tricks for running coaching sessions via video conferencing. We’ll talk about lighting, eye contact, external cameras, and how we don’t need to buy fancy equipment to make coaching work effectively online. _____ If you'd like to stay up to date with new episodes, continue the conversation or gen...
Mar 13, 2021•19 min•Season 1Ep. 26
Explaining what coaching is (and isn’t) is an important part of the process for coaches who set up the working alliance and contract for an effective coaching space. Metaphors can help tremendously to help clients grasp and understand coaching. Since there’s a broad range of what coaching might look like and entail and everybody seems to have their own definition and approach, our resident coaches Yannick, Siawash and Nicki decided to each share one metaphor that they sometimes use to explain th...
Jan 28, 2021•52 min•Season 1Ep. 25
Nicki wanted to give her coaching practice a business boost and asked us how to choose the right kind of programme out of the jungle of available courses online. Without advertising any specific courses or programmes, in this episode we’re talking about the criteria and questions that are important to consider before making such a choice. We’re talking about how to find out which programme might be a good match, how to make sure you’re not getting scammed or sucked into large investments by a ch...
Nov 05, 2020•34 min•Season 1Ep. 22
Marina is one of the many coaches who I recently talked to about how essential goal setting is to our work as coaches. Can we coach someone without having a clear agenda? Does it need to be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound)? Is it okay if the goal emerges along the way? What if it’s vague? Should we spend time making it more specific? Is it still coaching if we start a conversation without having a clear anchor to our work? In this episode of Talking about Coachin...
Oct 29, 2020•28 min•Season 1Ep. 21
Silence - one of the most powerful interventions during a conversation. Yet, so many people are deeply uncomfortable when nobody’s talking. Many coaches, especially when they’re starting out, are overly concerned with providing value or not to make the client feel uncomfortable, that they often fill silences quickly during a coaching session. Sometimes it’s best to speak, sometimes it’s best to hold an uncomfortable silence. What do coaches need to know about how to use silences in their practic...
Oct 22, 2020•29 min•Season 1Ep. 20
Imola asked us how we prepare for a coaching session, so in this episode we each share a few things we do ahead of seeing a coaching client that help us prepare for our sessions. We’d love to hear what you’re doing to prep for your sessions and coaching clients. _____ If you'd like to stay up to date with new episodes, continue the conversation or generally support what we do: Send us your question: http://bit.ly/talkingaboutcoaching Sign up to our mailing list (no spam, no sales, just a quick s...
Oct 15, 2020•9 min•Season 1Ep. 19
