Pick a question, any question

About a month ago, we asked those who “like” our Facebook page to share their favorite question to ask clients. We received nearly 80 questions!

If you are in need of a new question for your repertoire, or are simply interested in what other professional coaches are asking their clients, you will find (below) a complete list of those favorite questions:

• If you could have the perfect life you’ve always desired, what activity would you begin tomorrow to help you achieve it? (Andrea Teague)
• Looking ahead, what will happen if you don’t change? What will happen if you do change? (Sercan Savran)
• What can you do immediately, right now? (Sean Finnegan)
• Now that you this, what will you do today so tomorrow will be different? (Susan Carlson)
• What’s stopping you? (Willa Edgerton-Chisler)
• I understand that you don’t know, but if you knew, what would it be then? (Chris Bysell Hamrin)
• How can you afford to waste more time until you take action? (GP Life Coaching and Consulting)
• What would ‘80’ year-old ‘you’ want the present day ‘you’ to know? (Marlene Davis McCallum)
• I can hear that you can’t see beyond, but if you are on the other side of the obstacle, how do you want to see it? (Jeffrey Carado)
• How does this solution lead you toward you deeper desires? (Martin Jessen)
• What is the question I should ask you next time to move you forward? (Emma-Louise Elsey)
• What do you want your legacy to be? (Richard Pett)
• What else? (Jukka Puurunen/Gabriella Nagy)
• Except status quo, what is the next worse thing that could happen? (Marcel Gemme)
• If you knew without a doubt you would succeed, what would you take on today? (Eno Nsima-Obot Hill)
• What is the consequence and sequence to this action or thought? (Daniel Tolson)
• What are you learning from this? (Tara Cox-Raj)
• How true is that? (Katy Flatau)
• About what are you willing to be wrong? (Lynne Adrine)
• What do you mean specifically? (Mónica Gb)
• How do you know? (Axel Ritterhaus)
• What did you want to be when you were little? (Charles Popoff)
• How do you define ‘happiness’ and success’? (Laura L. Brown)
• What are you choosing? (Amy Van Court)
• How is what you’re currently doing working for you? (Tish Times)
• Have you mailed the check yet? (Dean Miles)
• So, now what? (Sudania Chou)
• How do you show empathy to yourself? (Sue McDonnell)
• What does SUCCESS look like to you? (Two Page Mini Business Plan)
• You wake up in the morning and you see that you, at last, have the life you always wanted. What is the first thing you notice that has changed? (Zohra Dali)
• Which part is unclear? (Tommy Shek)
• If you could have it go any way you wanted, which way would it go? (Lara Klein)
• When will you start doing this? (Vegard Olsen)
• What’s the one question you are hoping I won’t ask you? (Nora Whalen)
• How’s that current (status/choice/decision/position/etc) working for you? (Ellen B. Cohen)
• What you want? (GreTa Mela)
• Would you like to explore that option and see if it is a real possibility? (Cibelis Alonzo)
• So? (Benjamin Loh)
• If you could wave a magic wand and become perfect, what would change? (John Reed)
• What would you say to a friend if he/she told you this? (Rachel Brozenske)
• You don’t know? But if you did, what would it be? (Susan Carlson)
• What is the root of this situation? (Nancy Rousseau)
• What advice would you give to your daughter/son if they were in the same situation? (Carol Pressnall Leek)
• What have you learned today? (Arturo Eggler)
• Tell me more, please. (Mario German Infante)
• What do you think people say about you when you leave the room? (Maureen Jenks Wishart)
• What does your intuition say? What does your body say? (Junior Vargas Cruz)
• What are you getting from choosing to remain stuck, unfulfilled and unsatisfied? (Andrew Carter)
• So [since this way is not working], what could you do different that might work? (Äŋđŗė Mėiŗa)
• So what is most interesting to look at right now? (Catharina Wöhlecke-Haglund)
• What would you allow yourself to be and to do today? (Fil Maharlika)
• What insight do you get from that? (Sara Örsing)
• How much time are you willing to spend to reach this goal? (Maria Klein)
• Let’s imagine your old job, how do you feel? (Future Coaching Academy)
• What does your future self say about this? Five years from now, how will you feel when you look back on this? (Anu Bhatnagar)
• Imagine a world where anything is possible. Where are you? What are you doing? How are you feeling? (Vicky Ampoulos)
• What will be different? (Tiziana Capuozzo)
• This…for what? (João Catalão)
• What changes would you like to happen in the next 45 minutes? (Johnathan Brooks)
• Who are you “being” in this situation? (Eduardo Vier)
• Would you like to sit here or in this transformational chair? (Johnathan Brooks)
• What do you want instead of this? (Jurgita Kuliešienė)
• What’s really going on here? (Sally Vanson)
• …and…? (The Performance Solution)
• What are you willing to do? (O. Lucía Serna)
• Later…? (Hande Ahıskalı)
• How would God manage if you took the day off? (Magdalena Giec)
• What would it be like if you were certain you would succeed? (Allison Linney)
• What does that tell about yourself? (Minna Sutö)
• What would you do differently if you had to achieve double your goal in half the time? (Magdalena Giec)
• So, what do you want? (Clear Mind Marketing)
• If your life was a movie, what is currently happening in the movie of your life? How much would like to change this script? (Johnathan Brooks)

"All real living is meeting"

The following is a brief overview of the ICF UK conference presentation that took place on April 9th:

We have just had a marvellous day with ICF UK in London! On April 9th, Miriam Orriss and I joined Aboodi Shabi (Newfield) and Liz McCann (BBC) in addressing the conference theme of 'The Art of Mastery in Coaching.' What emerged, as a group of about 100 coaches participated in this very successful event, was a shared desire to attend to the deeper enquiry that is possible in our work and the hunger for coaching 'beyond technique.' There was great engagement in the room as we co-created a space in which coaches could explore core aspects of their practice. We acknowledged the primacy of presence, the profound possibilities in the coaching relationship and the miracle that occurs when the 'gods and goddesses of coaching', sit among us.


Edna Murdoch

 I was reminded of Martin Buber's work, which established the principle of the 'I-Thou' – the mode of connecting when we are attuned to one another in a spirit of honour and awe. The 'I - Thou' occurs only as we meet with our whole being. As Buber said,

"All real living is meeting."

In the reflective practice that is coaching supervision, we aim to foster a ‘real’ dialogue, which enables the coach to return to their work, resourced and refreshed. This level of supervisory input enables coaches to converse with their clients with much more awareness, clarity and impact. This happens especially when coaches attend to what wants to emerge in the life of the client or the team with which they are working, while still holding the overt focus of the contract. It requires that coach supervisors 'let go' of our fantasy of what 'should' be occurring and play our part in co - creating an exploration that is real and open and which surrenders to a dialogic process that has meaning and muscle beyond what coach and supervisor may know at any given moment.

The day at the ICF conference reminded us all that in these fast-moving, highly-pressurised times, there is a huge hunger for real human engagement. As the poet David Whyte, puts it in Loaves and Fishes:


This is not


the age of information


Forget the news,


And the radio,


And the blurred screen.


This is the time


of loaves


and fishes.


People are hungry,


and one good word is bread


for a thousand.

Edna Murdoch Director: Coaching Supervision Academy www.coachingsupervisionacademy.com

TRY—Power of saying yes



Terry Yoffe, CPCC, PCC

What can be more powerful than saying YES to situations that might challenge you, stretch you and even scare you!

When we are all feeling fear and anxiety and would rather stay in the smooth waters of the river, how courageous is the person that is willing to step into the turbulent waters, face the unknown and find out who they really are and what opportunities come their way.

In today's ever changing and challenging business landscape, having the courage to say YES to a new job situation that might seem out of your reach or uncomfortable says you have the confidence and trust to step out of your comfort zone and go for the brass ring.

How far out on the limb are you willing to go to get what you want?

Just say YES instead of "NO, let me think about it" or any other excuse you give yourself not to face your fear?

Terry Yoffe, CPCC, PCC

Personal and Professional Development Coach

TRY Coaching, LLCwww.trycoaching.com

ICF to promote coaching at ASTD

In just about two weeks, two of us (ICF Director of Brand Management, Ross Brown and myself, Marketing Coordinator Kristin Kelly) from the ICF marketing staff will travel to Orlando, Florida, USA for the ASTD (American Society for Training and Development) International Conference and Exposition. There we, along with various members from the local ICF Chapter (Tampa Bay Professional Coaches Association), will staff the ICF booth.

For those who are not familiar with ASTD, they are the world’s largest association dedicated to workplace learning and performance professionals. This particular show draws some 8,000 attendees (who work in thousands of organizations of all sizes) from more than 70 countries.

Our booth will promote the value coaching can provide an organization—what internal coaching is and how it can help. In pre-conference collateral, we have been promoting coaching through Coachfederation.org/value. Having local coach members on site will allow attendees to learn firsthand what coaching is, how it works, why it works and even what coach specific training entails—all within the comfort of our booth.


Chicago Coach Federation (CCF) members Pat E. Perkins (left) and Shawna Myers, ACC, along with other chapter members, shared information about the ICF and coaching at the 2010 ASTD conference in Chicago.



This show provides wonderful exposure for the coaching profession. We made our first appearance at ASTD last May, in Chicago. Members of the Chicago Chapter (Chicago Coach Federation) partnered with ICF Headquarters to staff the ICF booth and provided conference goers answers to questions about coaching and the ICF.

If you, or your clients, will be at this show, we would love to have you drop by! We will be at booth #422. If you won’t be there, check us out over on Twitter at twitter.com/ICFHQ. And be sure to drop by our blog—there will be a follow-up post once we get back from Orlando.

Internal coaching has made quite a splash in the media lately. Take a look at these two recent articles in Talent Management and Human Resource Executive Online.

Be the next ICF award winner!

In the coming months, applications for the ICF International Prism Award and the ICF Chapter Awards will be due. Not sure if you are eligible to apply? Read on to learn more:


2010 Prism Recipients from the TINE Group


ICF International Prism Award: Do you know of an organization that is committed to coaching as a leadership strategy? Do you coach for a company that is using coaching to achieve real business results? Has your company experienced a return on investment from its unique coaching initiative? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you should nominate that organization for an ICF International Prism Award.

The ICF is looking for coaching success stories to honor through this award program. Since 2005, ICF Headquarters has honored 12 diverse organizations for remarkable improvements in business directly related to coaching and coaching programs. No organization is too large or too small to win this prestigious award. You can download the Prism Award application here.

International Prism Award nominations are due at 5 p.m. on Monday, July 11.

ICF Chapter Award: Has your chapter established a coaching presence in your community? Has your chapter created a successful marketing/PR campaign in your community? If you answered yes to either of these questions, your chapter should be nominated!

The ICF Chapter Award is offered in two categories: the Local Spirit, Global Presence—Community Activism Award and the Finding our Voice—Marketing/PR Award. Three awards are presented in each category to small, medium and large chapters.

Tell us what your chapter is doing to promote the ICF and professional coaching in your community. Chapter leaders may nominate their own chapter or a fellow chapter for an ICF Chapter Award. You can download the ICF Chapter Award application here.

ICF Chapter Award nominations are due at 5 p.m. on Monday, August 1.

All 2011 award recipients will be honored at the ICF Annual International Conference this September in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.