Yesterday, there was a live client who made an interesting remark about what one of the coaches had done that had worked: “The coach was very tenacious. When I had not answered the question completely he repeated his question; sometimes in the same words, sometimes in slightly different words.” When we asked this live client how this had helped she said: "Those questions are quite hard so it helps when they are asked several times. Only the third time these questions are asked you can really answer them.”
3 comments, click here to add your comment:
Tenacious has a nice ring to it when expressed in terms of solution focus. For example, sometimes we have to be tenacious - like a detective - in trying to help the client incriminate themselves with success.
Hi Alan.
Right! Here is what Insoo Kim Berg once said:
"Where does my tenacity and ability to hang in there like a pit bull with a bone come from? It is because of the belief in people, that is, this absolute belief in people that if they have survived this far in their lives, they surely know how to go a little further. Most clients have abilities but they do not believe they do. Therefore, if you do not see it, it is easy to become discouraged.”
(http://bit.ly/9xZVIa)
That's an interesting observation. When I train other career practitioners, I observe them giving up on a potentially useful line of questioning when the client has difficulty answering. I try to get them to realise that the client's inability to answer is important information. The reasons for their inability to answer are likely to be worth exploring. The focus then becomes helping the client to move to a position where they can answer the question.
Post a Comment