The magic of the phone may not be obvious at first, but telephone coaching has a magic that coaching in person does not have. I have to admit I am surprised to hear myself say that for two reasons: 1) I was a big skeptic about coaching over the phone and 2) I am kind of phobic about talking on the telephone. But I have to say after coaching over the telephone for some time now, coaching over the phone has a magic that coaching in person does not have. I think this is important for women considering coaching with me or who have decided to coach with me to hear.
Every single client I have brought on to coaching, that is local, has expressed their desire to meet in person instead of over the phone. I leave the choice up to the client as to whether they want to meet me at a coffee shop, for a hike, on Skype, or by telephone. But I am convinced of the value, of meeting with clients by phone. Just to give a little perspective, coaching by phone is the most common method of life coaching. However, coaches also meet with clients: in person and via email, Skype, or Facetime. There are different benefits to each environment or tool used to coach with a client. However, here are the top 5 reasons why I think doing coaching sessions by phone provide a value and a magic that the other methods do not.
5) Convenience: Meeting by telephone is incredibly convenient no matter your life’s circumstances. Often struggles with time management and balance bring women to coaching, and coaching by phone maximizes time spent in coaching and is incredibly convenient for those who have children or others they are caring for at home, have difficulty leaving home, spend all day at work, or have difficulty sparing time or gas money to drive somewhere. Part of this convenience comes in when we utilize the early morning or later evening hours when coaching is most convenient. You can fit it into these convenient times without having to worry about being out and about at those times of day.
4) Location: The benefit of coaching by telephone is that no matter where you are or where I am, we can meet together for a session. The coach that I meet with, coaches me from New Hampshire, while I am in Arizona.This opens up the options for who you choose to be your coach. It doesn’t have to be someone whose office you live within 30 minutes of. Also, sometimes you just need a booster coaching session, while you are on vacation or out of town and this can be easily done over the phone.
3) Appearance: Whether we like it or not appearance, can be a distraction that invades our thoughts and can keep us from thinking of and pondering over the things that we want to. When I make assumptions about what you will look like and then I see you for the first time, I am thinking about my assumptions and comparing my assumptions to what you actually look like. And let’s face it, who hasn’t had a bad hair day or gotten a stain on their clothes as they were heading out the door. None of these thoughts or distractions are in and of themselves bad, but they can make a session less efficient and less focused on what the session is really supposed to be about. Coaching over the phone eliminates these struggles.
2) Environment: The benefit of the telephone in regard to the environment provides the benefit of being able to control the environment, making it one that is less distracting, and being able to be in your most comfortable place while coaching. When being coached on the telephone you aren’t bound by any one environment. Meeting in an office or coffee shop can be distracting at times, because there is little control over what happens in that location or what makes the client most comfortable. Telephone coaching allows the client to be in their most comfortable spot to be coached from, whether that is your bedroom, bathtub, office, backyard or wherever that may be. Being so comfortable physically frees up the mind to make coaching sessions more effective and efficient by being able to embrace the goals and conversation of a coaching session more quickly and openly.
1) Self-Disclosure: When the coach/client relationship begins one of the most important parts to develop initially is the comfort and rapport that signifies a trust and chemistry between me and my client that will make the relationship produce the desired fruit. This chemistry develops faster over the telephone because there is something more intimate and less daunting about meeting over the telephone. Coaching is a service I provide sometimes to people I know already, but more often to people I do not know or do not know very well. This has to be a relationship where you feel like you can trust me and want to share the important personal details that will provide the needed information to make life changes. The telephone provides a perfect format for this. The telephone is a comfortable place where you can share without seeing me, and often clients feel more comfortable sharing more details because of hearing my voice and inflection without other distractions like environment or outward appearance. And I no longer worry about missing out on seeing posture and outward appearance that gave me clues when I was doing counseling, because my clients tend to share more personally and I can hear clues from their tone, inflection, and breathing that help me understand what their words mean and where they are coming from.
Curious? Try it for yourself. Schedule a sample session with me, so you can experience the magic of coaching over the telephone. I promise you won’t regret it. Life coaching is the chance to make the changes that have been in the back of your mind for a long time. With the benefit and convenience of being able to do it by phone, why not give it a try.
