One-on-One Coaching | Definition, Strategies From Pros

Online coaching has become increasingly popular as it assists people in reaching their full potential alongside their main goals. However, there are certain difficulties in one-on-one coaching sessions, and to be a successful coach, you need to take several steps. 

In this article, I will break down everything you need to know about running the best one-on-one coaching sessions. You will learn what one-on-one coaching is, how to structure your sessions, and what top coaches do to make their sessions more effective. To make sure you get real, practical strategies, I have included insights from professional coaches who have helped countless clients succeed.

And if you are looking to start coaching in a specific niche, the Uteach team has put together detailed coaching guides to help you. Whether you want to coach in business, health, career growth, or something else, we have got you covered. Check them out here and start building your one-on-one coaching practice with confidence.

What is one-on-one coaching, and why does it work?

One-on-one coaching is a personalized coaching format where a coach works directly with a single client to help them achieve specific goals, overcome challenges, or improve performance in a particular area. 

Unlike group coaching, where the coaching program and guidance fit multiple people’s needs, one-on-one coaching is entirely customized. That means you assess the client’s unique situation, strengths, and struggles, making it one of the most effective ways to create meaningful change.

In a one-on-one coaching relationship, the coach acts as a guide, mentor, and accountability partner. You ask the right questions to help the client identify their problems, gain clarity, challenge limiting beliefs, and create a structured plan for progress. 

One of the key benefits of one-on-one coaching is the level of support and accountability it provides. Many people struggle to achieve their goals simply because they lack a clear roadmap or someone to hold them to their commitments. 

As a coach who runs individual sessions, you fill that gap by not only offering expert advice but also by keeping the client motivated and on track. As Paul Banks mentioned in one of his articles about coaching:

“Coaching is about whatever is most pressing. It’s not necessarily about forcing the coachee down a path (it can be directed, but telling someone, “I’m going to coach you on how to talk to customers better” isn’t going to help their openness), but rather it should be guided both by business needs, and the coachees’ own needs and desires.”

 

Paul Banks

Creator, coach

How to structure individual coaching sessions  

Let's suppose you chose the perfect coaching style and a working strategy. Is it enough for the sessions to be effective? Of course, you will also need to map out the structure of your sessions. It can be done in five simple steps. 

Session 1-2: Understand the client’s expectations and needs 

Understanding what the coachee expects and their desired outcomes is the first step to getting started. You want to understand what it means for your client to get that outcome. For example, if their goal is to have high performance, you want to know what is their definition of high performance. 

For this to occur, conduct an initial consultation. 

But before even the first session, most coaches I talked to recommend running a short survey to diagnose where your clients are on their journey. In one of his talks, coach Ajit Nawalkha highlighted the importance of doing such assessments. 

“Start a pre-session questionnaire that they can fill out. You can do a pre-session to help them fill out the questionnaire. So you have data and diagnosis of what may be happening”. 

 

Ajit Nawalkha

Co-founder of Evercoach by Mindvalley

So, you can ask questions, like:

• What specific goal or challenge led you to seek coaching?
• What concerns or fears do you have about coaching?
• What does success look like for you at the end of our coaching sessions?
• What obstacles do you feel are holding you back?
• On a scale of 1 to 10, how committed are you to making a change?
• How do you best learn or process information? (Visual, verbal, hands-on, structured, open-ended?)
• What kind of support or accountability do you think will help you the most?

You already know what the client desires to achieve by the end of the discussion. Thus, you will be able to design a specific program that supports your client’s goals and motivations. 

Session 3-8: Develop mindset and habits

Your first session would be about discovering the client’s needs and goals. Now, what about other individual coaching sessions? 

Your goal as a one-on-one coach during the next sessions would be to focus on their mindset. So, what you are basically doing at this stage is delivering your program to your client. 

For example, they may have come to you with a particular challenge. But what seems to be a challenge may be an opportunity in reality. Your job would be to help your coachee discover their true problem, and true potential and make them come to the realization that there is a completely different approach to their challenge. 

Here, you can ask questions like:

• What strengths do you have that could help you overcome this?
• What would happen if you did nothing about this challenge?
• What if this challenge is actually happening for you, not to you?
• What would the most confident version of you do in this situation?

Such questions may help the coachee reflect on their own progress. It can also help to develop a greater sense of self-awareness and spot areas where they need to focus their efforts.

On the other hand, you will be able to identify new approaches and possibilities and try new experiences. 

Session 3-8: Help them to come up with solutions

Now, you can clearly know where the client stands in the goal-achieving journey and where they desire to be. At this particular stage, you will need to discover 

• What keeps the coachee from being where they desire to be?
• Is there anything they have not tried to achieve that goal?
• What possible challenges separate the coachee from desired outcomes?

Communicate ideas to come to a better working solution. Provide constructive feedback that is specific, actionable, and focused on solutions to help the coachee improve.

Once you know where the problem lies, work with the coachee to explore potential solutions. Galvanize them to brainstorm ideas and continue to provide guidance wherever necessary. 

After choosing the solution, it is time to develop an action plan. 

• Clarify the specific steps to be taken
• Set a timeline for each step
• Find out what resources or support are needed to implement the plan

Remember to check in regularly and help your client stay on track. 

Session 9-10: Review their progress 

At this stage, you can reflect back to their initial assessment and compare it to who they became. So, your clients can see where they were at the beginning and what results they got while working with you. You can ask questions like:

• How does it feel to be able to [do your outcome]? 
• Looking back, what were some of the biggest "aha" moments you had during our sessions?
• What is the most rewarding part of this journey for you?
• If you had to describe your experience in one word, what would it be?

Ajit Nawalkha also mentions that this is the perfect time for you to deepen the relationship with your client and offer them help in other areas they may want your help in. 

“This would be the perfect time for you to throw in a soft sell. You can say something like, our contract is coming up in about [time]. And while working with you, I identified that these areas could also use some coaching. Would you be curious to make follow-up sessions?”. 

 

Ajit Nawalkha

Co-founder of Evercoach by Mindvalley

Session 11-12: Focus on long-term-growth 

What you want to achieve with your clients is for them to be able to sustain the results you achieved together. That is why you want to have a clear plan with your client so that their growth becomes long-term. 

So, during your last sessions, discuss:

• Who or what will help you stay accountable?
• How will you remind yourself of what you have achieved?

Some coaches also offer post-coaching support, like monthly check-ins or a self-guided system clients can follow on their own. But this depends on how much you charge for coaching or what your program entails. 

Examples of one-on-one coaching sessions

To give you a better idea of how individual coaching session structures can look like, I will present two real examples. 

Coaching session with Jennifer Starr

Jennifer Starr is a generative wholeness practitioner and a master-certified coach. She helps people achieve success, become better leaders, and achieve personal fulfillment. 

In the example below, you can watch Jenifer coach one of her clients on their very first session. She starts on a very friendly note, acknowledging the environment they are in and creating a safe space for the client to share. She was listening actively, catching the small details and nuances, and was able to build her other questions on them. 

Coaching session with Mick Rutjes

Mick Rutjes is a life coach, meditation teacher, and author. He helps people create a life that is in complete alignment with what they want and dream about. 

If you want to learn how you can effectively use the coaching conversation, you can watch the example below. In the video, he also highlights how you do not have to be the perfect coach and build those high expectations of you. For example, when the environment in the hotel interrupted the conversation, he was able to handle the situation smoothly. 

5 tips from pro coaches for effective individual coaching sessions

If you want to make your individual coaching session even more effective, here are some tips from other professional coaches you can implement right away. 

#1 Set clear goals 

When someone comes to you as a coach, they expect personal growth and keep a particular goal in mind. However, no one said the goal is formulated correctly. It can be too general. You need to help your client identify the main objectives they want to achieve in a specific period. A good technique is to set SMART goals. Each goal should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-specific.    

The pitfall here is that you may think you know what the client wants to change and how you will change it. However, Hillary Logan, who is the founder of MI Center for Change, advises to do the following:

“Make sure the client owns the goal. Ask open-ended questions, like What is it that you want to change, and hear from them how they want to go about making that change”.

 

Hillary Logan

Founder at MI Center for Change

#2 Ask the right questions 

As we have mentioned before, the whole success of coaching depends on asking the right questions. As a professional, you cannot just give away answers because those will be one-time usage. You need to guide your coachee throughout the way and help them find the answers to what they are looking for with the set of guiding questions. E.g., questions like: 

• What is your main goal, and how will it change your life?
• What is your biggest strength?
• What are your biggest fears, and why do you fear those?
• What do you need right now?    

But also, what is more important is how you ask those questions. 

“Ask your question with a sense of curiosity. You also want to mirror the language that the person is using. And also, ask the question in a way that resonates with the emotion of conversation at that point in time”.

 

Toby Sinclair

Persoanl Development Coach

Related: Best 157 Coaching Questions to Ask

#3  Have the right structure & frequency 

Individual coaching sessions should be held weekly. The most widely used frequency is once a week, from 40 minutes to an hour and a half. Coaching sessions should be regular to have progress. 

Most coaches usually offer 3-month programs for their clients to be able to achieve results. 

#4  Have feedback sessions 

Your client came to you to grow. They expect your feedback on progress. Track your progress and give constructive feedback. Be careful with the wording to motivate and not accidentally demotivate them. 

#5 Effective body language 

Individual coaching sessions require effective communication. As you know, communication is not just oral but also body language. On a subconscious level, people tend to feel more or less comfortable near others, depending on their body language.    

Therefore, your last MAIN STEP is to work on your body language. For example, practice in front of the mirror and learn how to communicate more effectively. Moreover, you can read materials or watch educational videos on each posture or gesture.    

“It’s not about the actual questions. It’s not about the exact words in the transcript that you use. What’s more important than the words coming out of your mouth is the energy coming out of your body”. 

 

Sean Smith

Neuro-transformational coach

 Besides learning to control your body language to become a more effective communicator, you must also read the clues in the client's body language to develop an efficient strategy for further work.    

4 questions to ask during 1:1 coaching

Besides the main steps to hosting successful coaching sessions, you also have to ask a certain set of questions. The power of coaching relies on questioning skills, as questions aim to awaken the coachee's potential.    

Of course, it is only natural that questions vary depending on what type of coach you are (career, dating, etc.). However, there are questions any coach should ask. Keep in mind that a professional does not give away answers.    

The whole point of coaching is to make the client independent and ask questions that unlock the potential. The answers to those questions make them more self-aware and open to further personal growth.   

So, here are examples of four questions you have to task throughout the session. 

• Question 1 - What are your goals and expectations from our meetings? 

With these questions, you will be able to understand their goal and have a clearer idea of how you should guide them toward it. Also, you will be aware of their expectations, and in case of confusion, explain what coaches do and what clients should expect. Some clients need to learn what coaching is about and expect answers from the coach rather than questions.  

• Question 2 - What other areas of your life concern you and you would love to improve?

With this question, the coach will understand the client better, including what bothers them and what fo they truly want to improve. Any type of coaching touches more than one aspect of life. 

• Question 3 - What does success look like to you, and how would you know if you have reached it? 

Clients often do not know what success is, which is different for everyone. When they understand what success is like for them and how it makes them feel, this will be the step where they will be ready to take practical steps towards it.

• Question 4 - Why is it important for you to reach your goal? 

If you do not know why you want the X thing, then you cannot get the X thing. So, make sure your client fully comprehends the vitality of their goal. 

Start your one-on-one coaching today

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