Claire writes: “As we complete our tour with End of Life, it’s been a great opportunity to think differently about how we describe our approach to conversations. The dictionary defines (sports) coaching as training or instructing people. It implies a level of expertise of the coach in the subject.

The coaching we do at work isn’t like that at all. For me, conversational coaching is having a conversation where

• Someone feels heard
• They know something at the end they didn’t know at the beginning
• Something will be done, known or felt differently as a result

Coaching uses the listening and questioning skills that are present in many different crafts – counselling, mentoring etc… and yet it’s different. Coaching is non-directive like counselling. And it’s generally more direct and more clearly framed. The coach and the person they are talking to work out how to have the conversation together. It’s the person who is thinking that leads. The coach follows like the stoker on the back of a tandem.”

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