When you feel the calling to serve others as a life coach, there’s nothing like seeing your clients succeed…
The jolt of energy that runs through your chest when they share their wins with you…
Or the heartwarming sensation that envelops you when they say “thank you” for helping them achieve their goals.
But to be an effective transformational life coach, it’s not enough to hear that inner calling – or even to be heart-centered, empathetic, or a good listener…
We must learn the techniques to consistently spark breakthroughs in all sorts of people.
When a coaching client approaches us with a challenge or a dream, we can often see at a glance the road to success: the actions that will take them to their goal, the habits they need to shift or the beliefs they must reprogram…
Sometimes we might feel the urge to jump in and tell them exactly how to build their dreams!
If you’ve felt this way, you’re not alone – it’s a natural impulse…
And yet, it can be counterproductive. Actually, it’s one of the most common mistakes beginner coaches make!
Professional coaches know that the most powerful way to ignite change is to take another approach entirely: a powerful form of coaching called evocative coaching.
What is Evocative Coaching?
Evocative coaching is a transformational coaching style that is based in the belief that your clients hold the answers they seek within them and they’re the ultimate authority in their life.
The evocative model is focused on empowering your clients to take full agency in their lives, tap into their highest potential and connect with their inner knowing – and your job as a coach is to unlock the wisdom within them.
Through a series of powerful questions, you guide your clients and help them expand their mindset, discover innovative solutions and see what is truly possible for them.
What is so extraordinary about this method is that in a single coaching conversation your clients easily shatter their perceived limitations and tap into positive emotions – all thanks to a couple Evocative Coaching Questions.
There’s a saying that goes:
“The quality of your life is determined by the quality of the questions you ask.”
And this is exactly what evocative coaching is all about!
An effective coach using this method will ask expansive, open-ended questions designed to help clients imagine possibilities outside their current circumstances and conditions.
Thanks to this inquisitive practice, they get the chance to create space for exploration, without the constrictions of their daily routine.
They get to dive deep into questions that will lead them to build a life they love, such as…
“What would I do if I knew I couldn’t fail?”
“What do I really want?”
“Is this important to me?”
Once a client engages with their imagination in this manner, it’s easier for them to step outside their comfort zone – and achieve results beyond their wildest dreams.
As a heart-centered person, you’re uniquely suited to use this coaching model!
This coaching process requires life coaches to hold space, honoring the divine wisdom in the other person and encouraging them to come up with their own path.
Spiritual life coaches naturally do this – you may even be intuitively applying some sort of this practice in your own sessions without knowing it!
What is the difference between evocative and directive coaching?
Not all coaching models are created equal.
When people think about coaches, it’s common to think of sports coaches or financial coaches and their methods…
A football coach will create practice routines for their team, strategize the plays in the field and give specific directions mid-game.
Money coaches usually teach others specific strategies to better manage their capital and assets. They work within a fixed frame of methods that they take people through.
In both cases, they act more like teachers than guides.
These are two examples of coaches that will give directions to others – that’s why this approach is called directive coaching.
Transformational life coaching is different, though – empowering clients to come up with their own solutions yields a much higher success rate, and more dreams coming true.
Why?
Think of it this way – you can give someone a fish or you can teach them how to fish, right?
Well, directive coaching is similar to giving your client a fish. You provide the immediate answer for their challenges – but there’s no guarantee they will have the tools to troubleshoot a bump in the road if things go differently than planned…
While teaching them how to fish (evocative coaching in this example) will empower them to come up with their own solutions and path to success!
Helping people reconnect with their inner wisdom and come up with their own ideas might take a bit longer than just handing them the answer…
After all, we’re used to thinking in a certain way and opening our eyes to new possibilities takes time.
However, in the hands of a skilled coach, it’s remarkable how fast results can occur and how lasting transformation can be!
What defines the best coaching style?
The success of a transformational life coach can be measured in their capacity to create change in the life of their clients…
The amazing breakthroughs that unblock someone’s path to success…
The mindset and habit shifts that clients undergo to step into the best version of themselves…
The aha-moment when they realize how powerful they truly are…
The dreams that come true.
As you see, it’s not about the method itself – the real question is what a coaching model can accomplish.
And there are good reasons why evocative coaching is the most effective life coaching approach…
Because this model is based on allowing the client to find the answers within themselves, the client is much more committed to taking the necessary steps to succeed.
Think about it for a moment – most of us don’t like to be told what to do…
Your clients are no different!
By giving them the authority to find their own answers, they feel empowered and motivated. Their sense of accountability is increased.
Another reason why this approach is so life-changing is that evocative coaching allows coaches to bypass their own personal preferences, life experiences and biases.
This is important because when we give advice, we tend to say what we would do in any given situation…
But this doesn’t mean it’s what your client should do, or that it’s the solution that suits them best!
Evocative coaching also liberates the coach from being restricted in the topics they help people with – a life coach doesn’t have to be a financial guru to guide a client in manifesting more abundance, or be a relationship expert to help them find the love of their life!
Finally, just as this model is the best for your clients, it’s the best for your business, too.
That’s why this is the model we teach at our coaching certifications here at the Brave Thinking Institute…
The high success rates and rapid transformation that you clients experience is the key to referrals, repeat customers and attracting your dream clients.
By unleashing positive energy into the world, more good things are attracted to you!
Spark breakthroughs on command and supercharge your coaching business
Evocative coaching can seem deceptively simple – to the untrained eye, it may appear as a stream of open-ended questions…
But in reality, it takes deep knowledge to remove yourself from the process of “finding the answer” and hold the space for the client to reconnect with their inner wisdom.
It takes training to figure out which are the right questions to ask each person. Everybody responds to things differently, so what may unleash someone’s motivation may get another person stuck in mind-numbing details!
And opening people’s hearts to new possibilities than they contemplated so far it’s a skill that takes some practice…
Even if you’re empathetic and feel the sacred call to coaching, mastering evocative coaching isn’t easy on your own.
But I know you have everything it takes to be a great coach!
So at the Brave Thinking Institute, we created a gift for you – a shortcut, if you will – to building the coaching business of your dreams:
Take Your Business to the Next Level with the “Coaching Catapult Secret”
This secret will help you skip past beginner’s mistakes and learn how to quickly launch a thriving coaching business!
If you’re ready to take the next step into your purpose and overcome (or skip over entirely) the challenges of transitioning into a career as a life coach – and growing a thriving business that actually makes a difference…
Then click the link below to access this short video!
Save Your Spot for the “Coaching Catapult Secret” here
Before you go, tell me in the comments: Have you used evocative coaching with your clients? What kind of transformations have you seen in them?
Mat Boggs
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