The primary skills and techniques of a coach include:

• Accountability; obtaining commitment to action items that the client chooses and accounting for the results.

• Challenging; requesting a client stretch beyond their self-imposed limits.

• Clarifying; questioning, reframing, articulating what is going on.

• Designing the alliance; assisting the client to take responsibility by deciding the form of support most beneficial to them. In therapy the therapist designs the alliance, in coaching the client does.

• Forwarding the action; using a variety of skills to move the client a step forward toward their goal.

• Holding the client’s agenda; probably the most important and distinctive coaching skill. The coach becomes invisible and without judgment, opinion or answers, which allows the client to access their own answers.

• Holding the focus; assisting the client to keep on-track when distracted by feelings, circumstances, etc.

• Powerful questions; an open-ended question that evokes clarity, deepens learning, and propels action.

• Requesting; forwarding the action by making a request based upon the client’s agenda

• Reflective listening