Communication is a two-way street; coaching communication competence not only refers to how coaches impart knowledge to their clients; it also refers to how coaches receive and process communication from their clients.

Communication is definitely not a one-way street; if you strive to be a successful coach, measured by both the number of truly satisfied clients and your financial rewards, the information you receive is just as important as the information you send. Communication involves both a speaker and a listener and flows back and forth between the two. As a coach, effective communication is vital to the long-term success of your practice. Here are some tips to ensure that your coaching communication competency is at its greatest.

5 Tips for Greater Coaching Communication Competence

• Everyone has heard this one, but its importance to the entire coaching process requires it be mentioned again, at the top of the list – ask, don’t tell. An effective coach asks questions whenever possible, instead of making statements. An acceptable level of coaching communication competence will not be reached without basing every session on inquiry.
• Organize ideas efficiently and effectively. You should have a plan for every session with every client. Yes, sessions will often change direction and veer off course, but having a plan allows you to express your ideas and knowledge effectively and efficiently and return to the correct course in a session when needed.
• Express ideas concisely. Flowery language is for poetry and romance novels; coaches should speak directly and get to their points as quickly and concisely as possible. Coaching communication competence is not about your extensive knowledge of the English language or you ability to speak for extended periods of time, it is about getting to the crux of the matter and finding solutions that work.
• Listen to your client. Don’t think about how you are going to respond, or formulate the next question in your head while a client is speaking. Listen to the words and the tone to better understand what the client wants, how strongly they feel, and how the issue affects their emotions. What they say matters more than how you answer, and if you don’t hear every word they say, in the proper context, you will never have an answer worth listening to.
• Read your client’s body language. Active listening includes both the words that clients say, the tone in which they say these words, and the body language they use. The art of reading and comprehending body language is a valuable skill for coaches. Competence as an active listener is one of the key components in becoming a successful and sought after coach. As a coach, you listen to obtain information, learn, understand, and contextualize. Becoming a skilled active listener will truly boost your coaching communication competence to a new level, allowing you to fully realize your potential as a great coach.

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Fred Philips
Business Coach
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