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Clarifying And Reflecting In Coaching
Clarifying and reflecting in coaching are two related tremendously powerful coaching techniques to help your clients, let me elaborate and explain how best to use them.
Clarifying is about ensuring you have a clear understanding of what your coachee is saying and thinking and in doing so you are also ensuring that they too have a clear understanding of their own situation. Examples of clarifying questions include:
‘so, if I am understanding you correctly, what you are saying is….’ or ‘ can I just clarify, what happened was…’
Reflecting is about reflecting back the words, thoughts and feelings that you have picked up from your coachee and serves both the purpose of showing that you are listening which in turn helps
build rapport with your coachee and also helps the client to hear what they have just said and prompt further exploration. An example of a reflective question is: ‘You’re apprehensive about the changes…tell me more?’ An example of a reflection of both words and feelings is: ‘You’re excited, but I’m also sensing you are a little scared?’
Just hearing what they have just said, even if you reflect back just a single word, can be hugely illuminating to your coachee and I often find I get responses such as ‘did I really say that?’ or ‘hearing you repeat what I’ve said helps me to clarify what’s on my mind.’
What is important when you use clarifying and reflecting in coaching is to give your coachee space to reflect themselves. Reflecting back their words, thoughts and feelings gives an opportunity for your coachee to clarify and reflect themselves so allowing them silence in which do this is crucial.
See Also:- Effective Listening Skills
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Active Listening Techniques
Use Of Silence
Effective Coaching Questions
