Every two to three months my basic life coaching questions list grows. The more I coach, the more questions I develop to help my clients. There are numerous coaching questions you can ask your client but in this article, I am going to highlight twenty-three of them that will positively impact the way you do life coaching.

What is Life Coaching?

In a nutshell, life coaching has to do with helping others achieve their desired goals. The unique thing about life coaching is that it is strictly based on the principle that the client has the inherent ability to determine and achieve their desired goals. Coaching is based on a future-focused approach and the main goal is to take the person from where they presently are to where he or she wants to be in their personal or professional life.

Basic Life Coaching Questions For Your Ideal Clients

These basic life coaching questions below are mainly to help you get off to a good start in your practice, especially if you are still new to the coaching business. You do not have to stick to these ones but over time you will learn how to frame questions in a way that benefits your specific client base.
Here is how I break these fundamental questions down in my coaching practice. These categories are not in any particular order.

Coaching Preferences
1. How can I best coach you? Do you prefer informal or formal(structured) coaching or do you prefer both?
2. What type of learning style do you prefer? i.e are you a visual learner or you prefer more kinesthetic (doing, solving problems), solitary(interpersonal), etc?

Challenges
3. What are the biggest challenges you are facing right now?
4. . What beliefs or ideas are limiting you?
5. What do you feel is holding you back from achieving your goal(s)?

Values
6. What does the phrase, values mean to you?
7. How do you think your values affect your desired goals?
8. Can you give an example of how that value or values influence your choices?
9. How did you come about the values you believe in?
10. How do you share these values with others? For example, family, friends, colleagues?

Dreams/Aspirations
11. What motivates you to achieve success?
12. What are the three personal desires you are currently not pursuing?

Emotions
13. What moves you to tears of joy or sadness?
14. What type of things (hobbies) causes you happiness when doing them?

Goals
15. What are your short or long term goals?
16. How committed do you feel towards the goal(s) you desire to obtain?
17. What steps can you take to move forward?
18. If you could change one thing about the goal, you want to achieve, what would it be?
19. What one thing is you able to do today that would take you closer to your goal?”
20. What would you like to achieve by the end of this coaching session or relationship? ( the question can be applied at both times.).

Personal Relationships
21. Who can you state has been a positive influence in your life and why?
22. What would people closest to you say about you if asked?
23. Is there anyone in your life who is constantly making you feel inadequate (who keeps putting you down).

You are welcome to add these basic life coaching questions to your toolbox and begin utilizing them immediately in your coaching sessions. That way it will give you ample time to prepare more powerful coaching questions tailored around the needs of your clients. These questions will help get you started on the right track and hopefully it will positively impact the way you do coaching.

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Peggy Adegoke
Life Coach
Writer, Coaches Training Blog community