Let's now look at the skills you need to hone to become a great life coach. Exceptional Listening Skills are essential for any life coach. With two ears and one mouth, it is important to hear more than you talk. Effective communication is key in the coaching relationship, as clients expect their coach to communicate effectively and expressively.
Many people don't know how to communicate effectively, so the coach's effective communication skills in the session will help the client model how they can most effectively communicate in all of their relationships. Helping coaches foster client awareness is an important piece of being an effective coach. Awareness is a necessary requirement for change, as unless a customer realizes it, they can't choose to make new decisions. Therefore, a coach should help clients become more aware of their behaviors, thoughts, emotions and beliefs.
Coaches achieve this by using other training skills that we have discussed in this section. Coaches should help clients integrate all the information that clients share to create coherent interpretations that help clients become self-aware. This means helping customers integrate their emotions, behaviors, beliefs, perspectives and body language so that they come to a more holistic understanding of what is happening. Part of this is exploring what lies behind the customer's words and not getting caught up in the “content” of what is being said and, instead, focusing on what underlies the words. It also means that coaches help clients explore how their beliefs, moods, emotions, backgrounds, thoughts and behaviors are linked and contribute to what is happening in their lives.
To help foster awareness, coaches use a variety of techniques to help clients understand themselves and their circumstances in more detail. First, they ask questions to create more awareness and understanding. Coaches also draw the main points, concerns and beliefs from what the client shares. They also help your client see the difference between beliefs and facts using the skills described above. Coaches also help clients broaden their perspective. They help customers see when they are trapped in a way of perceiving the world by challenging and supporting them to explore new perspectives.
Coaches help clients discover new thoughts, emotions, beliefs, perceptions and actions that could be most beneficial to their lives and goals. And they help the client become aware of new perspectives in their life and possible new ways of doing things. Coaches also work with clients to help them become aware of the moments when they should celebrate their successes and to be more aware of their strengths. Part of this is helping customers identify strengths. Inform customers when you think they've done a good job or made changes that will benefit their goals.
But coaches need to balance discussing strengths and celebrating with areas where growth is still needed because both are necessary to succeed. Therefore, a coach should help their clients celebrate successes while exploring areas where more work is needed. Part of this is confronting customers when actions and words don't fit together, when the customer says one thing but does another. The key to a successful confrontation is to confront from a place of empathy and care so that the client knows they have support, even when challenging them to do better. Coaches should also help clients find ways to continue improving and learning throughout their lives. A big part of this is to help them focus on creating positive actions that contribute to their goals.
Therefore, if a client wants to lose weight, encouraging them to continue learning about nutrition and fitness is an action that will help them improve their life and achieve their goals. Coaches should also help clients think of new actions that lead to the client's goals. This means brainstorming creative ideas about new things a customer can try to do to achieve their goals. Maybe they don't have time to exercise? Then, a coach might suggest doing chair exercises while you work, so you can do two things at the same time and maximize your time. In this way, coaches help clients identify, explore and implement alternative solutions to their problems and discern which options are best for them and their unique circumstances. Coaches should also help clients experiment with new behaviors to push the boundaries of what they thought was possible in their lives. This includes helping the client identify routes for further action that they can take through the exploration of new ideas, beliefs and perspectives.
And help the client consider new points of view that motivate new actions. Part of this is helping the client find a balance between learning at a comfortable pace and stretching out of their comfort zone. And one of the most successful ways to achieve this is to help the client start using new in-session behavior strategies so they can receive immediate feedback and support. Therefore, if the coach is trying to get the client to do chair exercises at work, they could explain these chair exercises to them during the session and ask the client to perform these new behaviors during the session together. The coach can then follow up with the client on what it was like to do these exercises, so that the client can receive immediate feedback and support to take new actions in their life. Be passionate and empathetic with a desire to help others: This trait allows you to understand your client's emotions and barriers to success. About Brian Tracy: Brian is recognized as the leading authority on sales, training and personal success in today's world. He is the author of more than 60 books and has produced more than 500 audio and video learning programs on sales, management, business success and personal development, including the worldwide bestseller The Psychology of Achievement. Brian's goal is to help you achieve your personal and business goals faster and easier than you ever imagined.
You can follow him on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Linkedin and Youtube. Technically speaking, you don't need a life coach certification in order to work as a life coach; however becoming certified will give you an edge over other coaches who are not certified as it shows potential clients that you have taken steps towards becoming an expert in your field.
