I’m really pleased to post the following article from Maria Varallo on Speed Coaching.  My hunch is that this is a form that is only going to grow in popularity as it meets important needs of time and value, notwithstanding the benefits of the form to “get to the point” very quickly.  It’s a fascinating article and I hope you find it useful for your own coaching work. Over to Maria…

It’s true speed coaching did start off as a bit of fun however it has turned into a serous affair of learning and more learning and that’s just for me, the coach!

When our client asked us to deliver taster sessions for their Learning and Development week ‘of course’ we replied enthusiastically, we did not expect ‘taster’ to mean fifteen-minute lunchtime slots. It seemed everyone in the company wanted to give it a try, so the only way was to offer a speeded up meeting of minutes instead of hours.

I went in with a couple of ideas and even a template of how to use this precious time even though I know that a large part of coaching is working with unexpected, it really can be staying with the not knowing. However I thought this would be different as it turns out it wasn’t.

We felt we were manoeuvred into a position of thinking and acting much faster, using tools and techniques that intuitively flashed into the mind we acted upon, instead of holding back and checking the motivation, the commitment etc.

We started to get into the swing of it very quickly and the learning is as follows: -

1. Manage expectations and set the scene right at the beginning as soon as the client walks in.
2. Build rapport in a couple of minutes.
3. If you’re an experienced coach and getting supervision then go with your intuition. Intuition is layers of experience fast tracked. Best practice would be to talk through these thoughts, actions and reflect on your learning in supervision.
4. Remember wrap up is very important, just as important as the first couple of minutes. Invite feedback, gauge their interest and of course what’s their next step? Ensure they leave feeling curious and good preferably up – lifted and wanting to know more. I gave my card and invited them to get back to me with any queries or comments etc.

I loved it and more importantly the clients went away smiling and the evaluations showed they wanted more. We would do it again and the more I do it the more questions it raises for me, so please let me know if you try it.

Like to know more…You can follow Maria on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/aspace2b or email here at:maria@aspace2b.co.uk

Wherever you are, just quiten down a second and take 2 or 3 nice comfortable breaths and just settle.

Close you eyes, if you wish, and experience your breathing…in and out….up and down…in and out….up and down…

Then slowly become a little more aware…of the universe breathing WITH you…in and out….up and down…in and out….up and down…

Feel the gentle wind of destiny flowing through this breath of the universe…this breath of you…breathing you into existence…breathing us all into existence…

Enjoy for a few minutes and then open your eyes and smile.

J

…by asking the client to “Imagine themselves observing their actions from afar.”

There’s a million and one ways to do this, but I’ve found a slightly different approach that works just as well, I call it the OBSERVER2 POSITION – it achieves pretty much the same results in terms of objectivity for the client but without them having to do the “mental gymnastics” of leaping into a different position, and yes, I know you could move the client, but let’s say you are speaking on the phone – most of the time, this is my situation – and you want to facilitate this objective glimpse in a quick and natural manner…

All you do is say, “Ok.  It’s often the case that others can see us more clearly than we can ourselves – basically because we are “in the game” so to speak.  So, let’s do this to get another useful perspective on this.  Imagine that someone is watching your actions from afar.  They can see you actions, your thoughts and feelings.  Yet they don’t know you at all, but they can see how you go about every minute of every day.  Spooky eh?   Ok, now what would THEY SAY about how you are APPROACHING THIS?”

You could then move onto THOUGHTS, ACTIONS, FEELINGS…and anything else you want this IMAGINARY META FIGURE to comment on.

Have a play with it and see how you get on.

Best!
John

Ok, maybe not that absolute, but without establishing an explicit observer position for the client early on, the coaching can be a little like walking through wet sand.

When the client can step-out and see themselves in a detached and objective manner, a whole new world opens up.

When they can’t they see the same-old world closing in.

So make sure, early on in the coaching relationship you explore an Observer position with the client.  You will be very glad you did.

Do this for yourself or with clients (credit: thecoachingmachine.com)

OK, CONTEXT – WHAT’S IT ABOUT IN A FEW WORDS?
- 10 SECONDS
OK, WHERE ARE YOU AT RIGHT NOW?
- 10 SECONDS

HOW HAD YOU LOOKED AT THIS?
-10 SECONDS

WHAT’S A MUCH BETTER WAY OF SEEING THIS?
- 10 SECONDS

GIVEN THAT, WHAT YOU GOING TO DO NOW?
- 10 SECONDS

AND DOING THIS YOU BE-COME WHO
- 10 SECONDS

OK…GO DO AND HAVE FUN!

Can you use this with clients and pass it on to your coaching colleagues
and friends absolutely free of charge and legal shenanigans
- YES, YES & YES!

There’s a revolution in coaching to individuals.  Not in business where they get it in a consulting kind of way, but the man and woman in the street, the drawing out of potential, the working with one or more on projects, the co-creation of radical on-the-ground shifts, where we no longer wait for it to be done for us, we go do, we learn to go do, we must go do.

Your thoughts please on coaching’s next big thing…

If you’ve ever seen Gary, live or on DVD, you’ll know that he does a lot of back and forth with the client in which he weaves in subtle shifts of framing and emphasis, not to mention provocation and humour to shift emotional states to more resourceful ones.

Well, I spent three days at a conference in the UK watching Gary close-up working with a variety of people with severe medial conditions (his first ever in the UK I believe).

Now, there was a quality to his voice that I had an inkling about which seemed to have an incredible relational effect on the client, such that they seem to become ONE BEING – which might sound a little odd, but it’s quite clear to see this.

But how was this happening?

Then, boom, it hit me late on, on Day 3.

He was being the voice of their Inner Being.

I think his intuition is such now, that he is picking up the person’s Inner Being energy and speaks for that – when it typically isn’t listened to, or even heard.

He brings that right to the fore.

Imagine! – working with a client and you are speaking from that place which the person recognises as their deepest wisdom and most loving and caring place.

Very powerful and beautiful too.

Best!
John

Why?  Well, everyone needs a way to think about personal change.  A way which is understandable and powerful.  A metaphorical structure, if you like, that not only clarifies but provide a way forward; it is both problem and solution.

The notion of the “Ordinary World” is all of that and more.

It is no surprise that Hollywood has taken this notion to be the most common Departure Point for it’s most popular films because it speaks to a deep truth in the human psyche.

And to bring it back to YOU AND ME, when we are considering some particular aspect of our life that we want to make a change with but perhaps have found difficult to achieve, the “Ordinary World” can be the resource we need.

The “Ordinary World” and The Coaching Machine

When you look at The Coaching Machine with the Hero’s Journey, you see that the “Ordinary World” is placed where you are AT.  It is your typical way of being, way of seeing, way of doing (with “typical” being the operative word).

To make any change, here’s what you need to understand:

1. That you are living in your “Ordinary World”.
2. That to make any real change you need to leave that “Ordinary World”.
3. That leaving the “Ordinary World” is scary and unknown.
4. That you will require courage, bravery and action to do so.
5. That once you have stepped over the threshold, you must put all expectations aside.
6. That you must trust in what destiny is about to show you.
7. That when you step over, you state you are willing to open your doors to your inner being.
8. That when you do that, you become filled with wonder, possibility and synchronicities abound.
9. That you must remain open, alert and flexible – expect to be knocked off balance, and return to balance.
10. That this is the adventure of living beyond the “Ordinary World” to which there is no going back.

Thus endeth this post on your “Ordinary World”.

Have fun!
John