You’re stuck. You’ve been meeting with one of your wellness coaching clients and you just can’t seem to help as much as you’d like. They’re just not moving forward. What now?
Good question.
The key is not to push harder, speak louder, or pull out an old motivational speech from your favorite movie. Rather – the key is to ask a good question.
The ability to ask the right question at the right time is a core component of the Certified Wellness Coach certification training that we offer. But let’s get you started with one you can try out – the “1-10 scale question.”
The next time a client seems stuck, ask her something like this: “On a 1-10 scale, how likely do you think it is that you’ll accomplish that?” Let’s say she responds by saying “a 4.”
Rather than responding “Really?!? That’s it? Why?” (which will spur her to tell you all the reasons why it was only a 4, defending and entrenching her position), instead respond with “Ok – tell me a little about why you said it was a 4 and not a 2.” In most cases, this will then result in her sharing all of the reasons why she thinks it will happen, reasons the odds are much better that she’ll accomplish it than just a 2.
From there, once she’s reminded herself of all the reasons it will happen, then is a good time to move onto talking through what barriers she may be facing that keep it from being rated as an 8. And that can then open up problem-solving around those barriers together.
As much as you – as a wellness coach – would like to start by breaking down those barriers first with all sorts of solutions, it simply doesn’t work. Instead, begin with the above question. Use that question to set up the next question and you’re likely to see your (and more importantly, your client’s) success rate enhanced.
