Thread by @EmotionsDoctor

5 soft skills you need to succeed as a Coach.

1. Rapport

Building a relationship is a fundamental skill for a coach to have. You’re entering an agreement with a client where they let you in on their deepest desires and fears. It’s difficult to do this without developing trust

2) Rapport is built on features of ‘sameness’, perhaps because instinctively we feel less threatened by someone we can relate to and more easily relax and open up. It includes many different aspects from physical appearance, body gestures, voice, language, beliefs and values.

2. Active Listening

In a coaching session, your requirement to listen goes beyond simply hearing the information. Active listening is a conscious effort to give the other person your full attention.

You might know someone you’d describe as a great listener. When you’re talking to this person, you feel that you have all of their attention, it’s easy to open up and they make you feel valued through the simple act of listening.

So what does it take to become good at active listening? 
Developing the intention, having a clear focus and concentrating on the other person. A good coach not only listens to what’s being said but also listens and looks for non-verbal cues and what’s not being said.

3. Effective Questioning

Questions are the tools of a great life coach. Remember, a coach is not here to give the answers, their job is to help someone find the answers within themselves.

A well-timed question can unlock hidden answers, remove barriers and help potentially life-changing information come to light. 
An effective question is simple to understand, it influences without being controlling and they always have a purpose.

Furthermore, always remember that you’re coaching the person, not the problem. Many things are out of our control, except the way we think about them. A great question focuses on the coachee, not the problem they’re dealing with.

4. Use of Silence

Using silence as part of the coaching conversation can be a powerful tool to help the client reflect on what they’re thinking or feeling.

A significant part of the job description is to hold the space for people to share their thoughts and deal with them. 
Many times, the best way to accomplish this is to use silence.

Let the other person speak, don’t interrupt their thought process, let them dig deep and speak their mind. This can require you to be silent for a seemingly uncomfortable length of time so they can share or that they can look inside and reflect.

Great coaches will pick up on the body language of their coachee to jump back into the conversation.

5. Empathy

Many coaches start their journey because they are passionate about helping people in some form or another. A great coach knows the difference between empathy and sympathy, how to separate the two and most importantly, how to not allow other’s emotions to affect them.

In a coaching session, coaches show empathy through their body language as well as verbal communication, in combination with other competencies. 
For example, an empathetic and non-judgmental way of offering feedback would be working with evidence-based feedback.

We look for a coach to offer empathy to assist the client in feeling that they are being understood and not alone in their situation.

Written by: The Coaching Academy