Effective Listening Skills

Effective listening skills are a pre-requisite of a good coach with a good coach spending far more time listening than talking.

When engaged in everyday conversation it is very easy to become distracted with our own thoughts and opinions. However, when you are coaching, the session belongs to the coachee and therefore you should put our own agenda, opinions and judgements aside.

As a coach, when you listen effectively you are:

• Focused on the coachee and are not distracted by your own opinions, judgments or feelings
• You are showing the coachee you are listening (see Active Listening Techniques)
• You are listening to understand your coachee - so you are listening not just to the words being said but also for their feelings, emotions and even for what is not being said verbally
• Giving the space to your client to talk freely and explore without fear of judgment or interruption
• Aware of your coachee’s wants and needs so intuitively know what questions to ask

Understanding the different Levels Of Listening is helpful when coaching and by applying Active Listening Techniques you can improve your listening skills.

Recommended Resources:

The Coaching Manual: The Definitive Guide to the Process, Principles and Skills of Personal Coaching by Julie Starr (Paperback - 8 Nov 2007)

See Also:-

Active Listening Techniques
3 Levels Of Listening
Use Of Silence
More Coaching Skills

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