Thread: NLP Coaching | Frame

Beginning Frame

A Useful Guide to Using NLP as a Coach | Extract 5

The beginning frame incorporates rules for the coaching session, expectations of the coach and client, boundaries and anything which the coach and client may define as an over-arching aspect of the relationship. It establishes the focus of the session. By addressing and aligning the unspoken assumptions between coach and client you can then both work more closely towards achieving a shared set of outcomes.

Some questions that a good coach would insist that the client thinks about may include:


What do I want from this coaching process?
What do I believe that a coach can do for me?
How we can get the very best result for both of us from this coaching session?
Do I trust the person I’m working with?
Am I prepared to be open and honest enough during the interaction to get full value from it?

The presenter’s opening statement, as well as the assumptions of the client creates a frame of reference. Beyond that, two presentations could be identical in content, yet the audience would interpret them differently - Focusing on different pieces information, drawing different conclusions and most importantly - taking different courses of action.

The beginning frame also links the individual coaching sessions into a longer journey and ensures that issues are not necessarily neatly ‘wrapped up’ just to bring the session to a close.

If we cannot agree an acceptable frame with our client at the beginning of the coaching intervention, we may well refuse to continue with the session.

More to Follow

A Useful Guide to NLP for Coaches