Without structure, your life coaching sessions with clients can get awkward. They might end up going off on a tangent and waste valuable time instead of walking away with clarity and motivation.

So, let’s explore how to create a simple coaching session framework you can rely on with all your clients.

The Best Coaching Session Framework

No matter your years of experience, a repeatable coaching session structure is the best way to keep the conversation focused. It lets you balance a goal-oriented approach with the necessary fluidity to address your client’s needs.

Simple conversation models and session frameworks also save effort by replicating templates across clients with minimal customization. Following the same planned structure helps you keep productive coaching sessions.

If there’s consistency in your process, you get better results. It also creates more predictability for the client so they feel more at ease during your coaching program.

How to Structure a Coaching Session

Step 1: Check-in

First, help your client arrive mentally. You can use icebreaker questions to establish a rapport or check how they feel that day. Knowing what’s present in them emotionally can inform your coaching style.

If they feel tense, you can help them ground and relax with a simple one-minute breathing exercise or guided meditation. This will help them get into the right mind and make the rest of the session flow more smoothly.

If this is a follow-up conversation with the client, check in about their progress since the previous session. Ask them what came up since then regarding the goals defined and whether they’ve taken any action steps. Explore what worked and what didn’t.

Here are some coaching questions that can help you do that:

• What action steps have you taken since our last coaching session? How did they go?
• Have you discovered any new insights related to your goal?
• What stopped you from taking action on the goals we discussed in the last coaching session?

In a standard one-hour session, spend 5-10 minutes on this to lay the groundwork.

Step 2: Set the Focus

If it’s your first session with the client, help them define the overall objective for the coaching engagement. You probably have an idea of what they want to work on based on your discovery session with them and any client intake form you’ve had them fill out. Now, it’s time to get more specific.

For example, you can ask them:

• What specifically do you want to achieve? What would that outcome look like?
• What changes do you expect to see from focusing on this area?
• How can we ensure that your goal is measurable, allowing us to track your progress?

This will be the central theme of your upcoming sessions in the package your client signed up for. Agreeing on a clear objective for the coaching journey is essential to track progress with the client.

Next, define the focus for the rest of the session. You can do this by asking:

• What must we focus on today to keep you moving toward your goals?
• What would make this a powerful conversation for you today?
• What would you like to focus on in this session?

Set a rough agenda for the session so you can manage time effectively and keep the conversation focused on what matters most to the client.

Your first session with the client might mostly revolve around defining their overarching goal as specifically as possible. However, in follow-up sessions, you don’t need more than 5 minutes to define the focus of the conversation.

Step 3: Explore the Theme

This is the very core of each coaching session. It’s when you’ll have a chance to:

• Explore where the client stands in relation to their goals
• Address any fears, doubts, and limiting beliefs that hold them back from progress
• Talk about any obstacles they have to overcome and what options they have to move forward

A few coaching tools that can guide your client to new insights here are:

• Asking probing questions: Simply saying “What else” or “Tell me more about that” can urge your client to go deeper into their topic of reflection.

• Using the five options technique: Ask your client to come up with at least five solutions to their problem on their own.

• The obstacle approach: If your client feels stuck, dig into what the real roadblock is in the situation. Hint: It’s often in their mind.

• Work backward: Encourage the client to describe their ideal future situation in detail and then reverse engineer how they might get there.

• Discuss their personal growth: The key to getting what they want might be becoming the person who can make it all happen effortlessly. Look at how they need to grow.

You’ll find seven well-known coaching models in the next section that will help you prepare more for this part of your session. Leave as much time for it as possible without neglecting the other three stages.

Step 4: Create a Plan

This is where you’ll define what action your client will take until the next time you meet or within a specific timeframe.

Stoltzfus Tony suggests the “Could Do, Want To, Will Do” model in his book Coaching Questions: A Coach’s Guide to Powerful Asking Skills.

In this model, asking the client what they could do lets them explore their options without making a commitment. Then, they can choose an option they want to do before committing to what they will actually do.

To make their goal more specific, you can ask the following:

• Make that into an action step: What exactly are you going to do?
• What will you do, by when?
• What will you commit to doing in the next two weeks to keep moving forward?

Watch out for what coaches call the “wiggle.” If your client hesitates or their body language feels uncomfortable, you may need to redefine their action plan. Stoltzfus Tony has some great suggestions for coaching questions that help you do that, such as:

• Are there any obstacles to getting this done that we need to address?
• Who else do you need to check with or work with to make this happen?
• On a scale of one to ten, how confident are you that you’ll complete the step by the deadline?
• What would it take to raise that to an eight or nine?
• How could you change the step or the deadline to make it more realistic?
• What could you do to increase your chances of getting this done successfully?

Leave around 5-10 minutes for this final stage of your session, depending on how much clarity your client has.

Avoid wasting time on session scheduling and logistics that can be done online. If you run your coaching business on Paperbell, your client can simply book their next session with you within your allocated business hours.

7 Types of Coaching Session Frameworks 

Coaching models serve as simple, universal frameworks for client conversations. You can adjust them depending on the length of your sessions and which component needs more attention.

Here are the seven most commonly used ones you can adopt. We’ve linked a detailed guide for each so you can learn their nuances and master them.

• GROW/TGROW model: Helps you set clear goals, evaluate the client’s current reality, explore their options, and define action steps.

• SMART goals: Ensures objectives are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound, helping clients set focused targets. Note that this coaching framework only focuses on the goal-setting stage of the session.

• CLEAR model: Helps coaches provide effective feedback through Contracting (goals), Listening actively, Exploring options, setting Actions, and Reviewing progress.

• OSKAR model: It’s all about solution-focused coaching through setting Outcomes, Scaling progress, identifying Know-How and resources, Affirming achievements, and Reviewing actions.

• FUEL model: Structures coaching sessions by setting the topic, Understanding client perspectives, Exploring options, and Laying out actionable plans for sustainable results.

• The Coaching Funnel Model: Setting a clear goal, exploring the situation in depth, generating multiple options, making a decisive choice, and creating a committed action plan.

• CIGAR model: Focuses on assessing the client’s current reality, envisioning their ideal state, identifying any obstacles, taking action to bridge gaps, and reviewing strategies to optimize effectiveness.

Like all coaching skills, it’s better to focus on mastering one conversational model rather than dabbling in multiple ones. Deep competence with one tool accelerates your client’s progress more effectively than a superficial understanding of several.

The mastery of even one model allows you to engage fully in the moment with your client, rather than being distracted by the mechanics of the technique.

FAQs

What are the Five Basic Elements of a Coaching Session?

A session typically consists of these core elements. They aren’t so much an agenda but rather the main themes that occur in an average coaching conversation.

1. Goal setting: Defining clear, achievable objectives for both the session and the overall coaching relationship.
2. Implementation: Outlining action steps and adjusting them as needed to stay on track.
3. Progress review: Evaluating clients’ progress towards their goals and giving them constructive feedback as needed.
4. Accountability: Establishing a system of accountability to ensure the client follows through on their action plans.
5. Ongoing support: Providing guidance and emotional support to help the client stay motivated and focused.

What are the Four Parts of a Coaching Session?

A life coaching session can typically be divided into these four parts. Planning sufficient time for each helps ensure that you leave your client with tangible takeaways and a clear plan for the next steps.

1. Opening: Checking in about the client’s progress on action items.
2. Focus: Setting the agenda for the session.
3. Exploration: Delving into the client’s issues, goals, and potential solutions.
4. Action planning: Developing a concrete plan of action.

What are the Five Stages of the Coaching Process?

Throughout a contract with a client, the coaching process usually involves five stages, each leading to the next.

1. Establishing the coaching relationship: Contracting and building trust to establish the purpose and terms of the coaching agreement.
2. Assessment and goal setting: Evaluation tools and discussions assess the client’s current situation, leading to the setting of clear, specific goals.
3. Planning and strategy development: A detailed action plan is developed, outlining steps and resources needed to achieve the client’s goals.
4. Implementation and action: The client begins to take the outlined steps with ongoing support and adjustments from the coach.

Review and evaluation: Regular progress assessments and reflections refine strategies and set new goals if needed.