Get All Answers on How to Organize Great Coaching Sessions

Coaching has become increasingly popular, as most of us want to improve and level up our lives. Therefore, coaches are on-demand.   
 

However, with high demand comes high competition, so to be able to stand out in the market, you have to offer high quality. We will help you with the achievement of high quality through explaining everything related to the organization of effective & great coaching sessions.  
 

So, if you are ready, let’s start!   
 

Definition

First things first, let’s get clear on the definitions of coaching and the coaching sessions.  
 

Coaching is a process/training program designed to improve clients’ well-being. There are various types of coaches, such as lifestyle coaches, career coaches, dating coaches, and so on. The main idea is that it aims to guide the client towards achieving professional and personal growth, switch their mindset and provide them with skills & tools necessary for long-term change and well-being.   
 

So, the coach does not just tell the client what to do; the coach guides them to assist them in finding solutions to various obstacles. Remembering this is vital as you should build your coaching sessions around this concept.   
 

The coaching session is like a lesson of the course. It is one of the various sessions of a carefully planned, individual-centric, and well-designed coaching program/training. 

Main Elements of a coaching program 

Before we dive into the structure of the coaching session, it is vital to understand a sample structure of the coaching program. The general coaching program includes:  
 

• Agreement between the coach and the coachee. There are two types of agreements, first, one being an outcome-based agreement and the second progress-based. 

The first one means that the client has goals and desired results they want to achieve. They have a clear direction to go. Meanwhile, the second one, which is rarer, is about progress in various areas without a specific goal. Usually, the second type of agreement occurs when the coach works with the clients for a long period of time, e.g., 2-3 years. In this case, the desired results are achieved, but further progress is important to the client; that is why they keep on the ongoing self-development sessions with the coach.  
 

• Identification of current situation and desired goals/results 
• Guidance, questioning, support & assistance are one of the most important elements of a successful coaching program. 
• Accountability - a great coaching program has coaches and clients that are accountable and responsible. 
• Motivating the client to take action - coaches must beagle to implement various motivational techniques and individual-centric approaches to push the clients toward achieving their goals. 
• Measuring the results   
   

Because most people choose outcome-based coaching programs, we will review the main elements those have to have. 

Main Elements of a coaching session

The coaching sessions should be carefully designed to cover all the main training elements and help the client achieve the individual goals they want. Plus, remember that everyone is different, so each program and development plan is going to be unique.   
 

However, we will cover the main elements that almost every coaching session includes. Those are:  
 

• Constructive Feedback. Your coachees came to you to learn and grow, so an effective coaching session must also include some constructive feedback. 
• Questioning. Each session should include a set of powerful and guiding questions. Yes, you can have general ones prepared beforehand, but the session is conversational, so having the ability and skill of questioning is vital. 
• Assignment of tasks and various exercises that will build up the character, strengthen mindset, and contribute to the achievement of results. 
• Follow-ups․ It is essential to send follow-up messages or emails, even if you have a week until the next session.

Attributes that make a great coaching session

Hosting great coaching sessions is more than possible, and you do not need 10+ years of experience to do so. Great coaching sessions that bring the most efficient results have few attributes in common. So, I suggest that we take a look at those attributes. 

Dialogues

Coaching sessions are dialogues, so make sure to engage in one and encourage one. For example, for the first session, it is vital to discover as much as possible about the client to base and construct further development plans more efficiently later on. Therefore, you need to have the ability to maintain a dialogue through powerful questioning and listening skills.   
 

Your Skills as a Coach 

Your skills as a coach are vital for successful coaching sessions. Therefore, let’s take a look at the main skills you need to have:  
 

• Communication - being able to communicate with clarity and transparency is highly vital to successful coaching sessions. 
• Also, as a coach, you need to master powerful Questioning techniques. Most of the questions you ask should be open-ended so that clients have space to think and implement their creativity developing problem-solving skills they will need lifelong. 
• Listening skills are crucial because if you want to be able to guide, you need to know your client, their problems, and their desired results. 
• Positivity is not just a mindset. It is a skill. No matter what type of coach you are, being positive is vital to be able to give feedback instead of criticism and focus on the good to motivate clients to keep going. 

Establishment of Focus

If your client is not focused, then the results cannot be achieved. It is vital to maintain the client’s focus throughout the whole session. Remember, that coaching is not lecturing or teaching. You should rather help clients discover themselves, guide them and assist them on their way towards self-fulfillment. So, keep the sessions focused around a goal and engage coachees in various activities. 

Exploration Encouragment 

As a coach, you also need to encourage exploration of oneself throughout the coaching sessions. In particular, you have to get to know the client and motivate and guide them to get to know themselves. 

Topics to discuss during the coaching session

Various topics need to be covered throughout the coaching session. Those topics indeed vary from niche to niche; for example, as a dating coach, most of the topics will revolve around dating, past experiences, traumas, etc.  
 

However, there are general topics that any coaching covers because no matter what area needs to be improved, each coaching type requires mindset transformation. 

Types of sessions: one-on-one and group coaching

Now I suggest we look at the main types of coaching: one-on-one (individual) and group coaching.  
 

One-on-one coaching sessions are those that are held individually. Individual coaching sessions are quite efficient as they focus on one’s difficulties, dilemmas, and resolutions. It is easier to start with individual sessions to get better at coaching and ensure you help your clients achieve their goals.   
 

When coaches get more experienced and more in demand, they tend to start hosting group coaching sessions that usually include 2 to 6 people. Those sessions cost 30% less than individual ones and tend to last 30-60 minutes longer (depending on the group size).   
 

The main difference is the number of participants because both of those types still use individual-centric approaches. 

How to do the first coaching session?

Depending on your niche, the minor details in the structure may vary. However, as the concept of coaching is guidance towards transformation in well-being, there are general structures that you can follow. For example, let’s take a look at the approximate structure of the very first coaching session.   
 

First of all, keep in mind that the first session’s goal is discovery. You and your client need to have more clarity after this session. Basically, 

• What is the desired outcome?
• What will the outcome goal achievement bring to the client?
• Why is it vital for the client?
• Who is the client? What makes them happy?  
   

You want to have answers to all these and even more questions about the client to know how to work with them efficiently.   
 

Also, an effective activity to complete throughout this session is the wheel of life. You can give it printed out on paper so that clients fill out their satisfaction levels in different areas on a scale. Afterward, when they see a bigger picture, they will be able to choose 2-4 to work on, and by the end of the coaching training, fill it out once again. That exercise is like a self-reflection which also will show progress by the end. 

Why make coaching online?

Assume you want to become a coach and are ready to invest your time and energy in knowledge than use it in practice. The question now is, what kind of coaching is more scalable and will bring a fast return on investment? The answer is - online coaching.  
 

With today’s opportunities created for online education, it has become increasingly popular among educators and students. Many prefer e-learning over traditional settings because it comes in handy with lots of benefits and lower costs.   
 

The main benefits of online coaching are:  
 

• Low investments required 
• No location limits 
• Access to International Audiences 
• Cheaper advertising costs 
• Saves time, resources & energy   
   

But, to be a great online coach, you must have a great platform. An excellent platform for online coaching should be powerful all-in-one automation that will save your time and allow you to control everything related to your business from one place. Such kind of platform is - Uteach.   
 

With Uteach, you can create a full-featured website, SEO-optimize every aspect of it, including online courses, host live sessions, control marketing & payments, and scale as one of the best online coaches.   
 

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