Cathy Liska Hopefully you are realizing from the previous two blogs that the 11 Core Competencies of a Coach are also skills that serve to engage new coaching clients. These competencies are defined by the International Coach Federation, ICF, and taught in coach training. Let’s continue exploring the application.
The third area and next three competencies are:
- Communicating Effectively
5. Active Listening
6. Powerful Questioning
7. Direct Communication
Each time you meet with colleagues, network, and / or talk about your coaching, the application of your communication competencies is essential. The means listening deeply to what people say, asking powerful coaching questions, and using clear, direct language.
Sometimes we have the mistaken idea that we are focused on selling and that means telling and even pushing our services. The reality is we are creating the experience of communicating with a coach so that people can determine for themselves whether coaching is a process that serves them at this time in their life.
That means that instead of telling people lots of things, focus on engaging in a conversation from a place of curiosity about what they want in life, their challenges, and how they can move forward. Apply your coaching communication competencies and empower a natural flow in the conversation and exploration of the coaching process as a tool. Most important, invite others to consider the pros and cons and then decide for themselves with coaching questions.
