Effective Coaching Questions

• Open ended questions that bring about awareness and discovery
  • How would you describe the situation?
  • What’s important about that?
  • What stands out for you?
  • How else can you look at this situation?
• Questions that support action and accountability (closed-ended)
  • What’s your next step?
  • Will you do it?
  • When will you do it?
  • How often will you do it?
• Questions that facilitate deep thinking and understanding
  • What do you want?
  • What will this look like when you have been successful?
  • What would be the ideal way to approach this?
• Questions that facilitate options
  • What are some of the options you have come up with so far?
  • What do feel would work best for you?
  • Can I offer a suggestion that I feel might work?

Emotional Intelligence and the College Coach Approach
Steve Fishman & Lisa Decandia
July 26, 2011