Coaching skills are helpful in everyday conversations at work, home, and with friends. Using coaching skills in your conversations includes being interested and curious about the other person and what they are saying. It means asking questions and expanding the conversation. Coaching skills create engaging conversations for everyone involved.
During coach training, various tools and techniques are discussed in class and then everyone practices them in their daily conversations. The reports turned in are wonderful because people talk about the impact of using the skills in their conversations. The coaching skills used, according to the student coaches, saved someone’s career, enhanced their relationship with children, supported upgrading communication with their partner, or empowered them to pull a team together and plan. The outcomes are amazing and speak to the power of coaching.
Coaching certification requires developing the eight core competencies of a coach. The first, Demonstrates Ethical Practice, is unique because of the level of confidentiality. Next, Embodies a Coaching Mindset, calls on coaches to be open and curious. The third, Establishes and Maintains Agreements, includes ensuring that the other person is the one creating the focus and agenda for the conversation. Cultivates Trust and Safety is the fourth and it calls for a high level of respect as well as understanding the context for the other person. Number 5, Maintains Presence, means being completely focused on the other person. Listens Actively, competency 6, involves listening deeply, listening to understand, and listening cumulatively for patterns over time. Evokes Awareness, the 7th, includes questions and analogies as tools for expanding the conversation. The 8th competency, Facilitates Client Growth, is clear about the other person making their own choices and developing their own plans.
Imagine the power of these competencies in your daily conversations!
