THE BIG IDEA
We find most coaches don’t use inquiry enough. Try to ask open-ended questions without making assumptions. For example, “How did it go?” versus, “Did it go well?”
People can interpret the same information in many different and sometimes self-limiting ways. It’s a coach’s job to use Inquiry to discover a coachee’s understanding of a particular situation and then help that person expand his or her understanding to include new insights and options. There are several Inquiry techniques: Bracket, Paraphrase, Check perceptions, and Ask Probing Questions.
Inquiry techniques:
- Paraphrasing, like this: “What I hear you saying is…”
- Bracketing: Try to turn down the volume of your own internal chatter to fully understand the speaker’s words, thoughts, or feelings
- Checking perceptions: For example, “Linda, you seem kind of agitated to me. Let me check: Are you concerned about this project getting done on time?”
- Asking Probing Questions: “Say more about…” “What do you mean by…?” “How do you feel about that…?” “What is it that you really need from this situation?”