In Part Three, we completed the discussion on logic and emotion.
We recognise the best framework is to approach coaching with emotion and logic working in harmony.
We began to look at the vital coaching process of mastering the art of asking questions.
Here we will continue with how to ask empowering questions.
Coaching needs a structure and questions shine the spotlight on what we need to know.
All questions contain presuppositions.
Generally, we tend to accept these presuppositions given we are unduly suspicious and we naturally want to make sense of a question.
However, it is easy to overlook the meaning behind a question.
We are at liberty to challenge the presuppositions in a question, though they can fly by so quickly particularly when the question contains multiple presuppositions.
So, they rarely get challenged.
Questions are an art and a science.
A master coach should build positive presuppositions into their questions because questions have the power to change a person’s emotional state. We want to empower people, not disempower them.
This is one of the reasons why we use a combination of logic and emotion.
So, begin to ask questions that make a person feel more resourceful.
To do this we can simply focus on the resources a person truly has available.
Here’s a few examples of empowering questions:
“What prevents you from deciding to make this change right now?”
This question reveals that the person is quite able to make the change required and they do not need any other resource.
“When you consider all the resources you have, can you select the ones that will assist you best in achieving this outcome?”
This question tells a person that they have many resources from which they can choose, and that these resources can produce the result they are looking for.
“When you think about the progress you have made and the number of important things you have already learned, what do you regard as the most useful in this particular context?”
This question assumes a person has made significant improvement and has learned so much that can be exploited to achieve what is required in a given situation.
It also assumes that the application of certain skills lend themselves to specific contexts.