So what happens in a coaching session?

25th September 2025

Breaking Down the Experience Step by Step

When people hear the word “coaching,” they often think of sports or perhaps a motivational speaker hyping you up to “live your best life.” While those images might carry a grain of truth, real coaching—whether personal, professional, or executive—is a much more nuanced, focused, and transformative process.

So, what actually happens in a coaching session?

Let’s walk through it.

1. Setting the Stage: The Check-In

Most coaching sessions begin with a simple check-in which provides us with a vital few moments to get a feel for your current state—emotionally, mentally, or even physically—and gives you space to pause and reflect. It’s also where the agenda for the session is often set, based on your most immediate needs or goals.

2. Clarifying the Focus

Next, we clarify the focus of the session. This ensures the conversation stays purposeful and aligned with your broader goals. You might explore questions like:

This phase brings intention to the conversation. It’s not just talking for the sake of it—coaching is about movement.

3. Exploration and Insight

This is the heart of the session. Through powerful, open-ended questions, we will 

• Unpack limiting beliefs or assumptions
• Clarify your values, strengths, and blind spots
• Examine patterns of behaviour or recurring obstacles
• Reframe your thinking to see new perspectives

My role is not to instruct or advice, I am here as a mirror—reflecting your thoughts back to you in ways that foster clarity, self-awareness, and confidence.

You might be surprised how much insight comes simply from having space to think out loud, with someone deeply listening and asking the right questions.

4. Creating a Plan or Action Step

Insight is only half the story. Coaching also moves you toward action. In the final part of the session, we will:

• Define next steps or experiments to try
• Set a small, achievable goal
• Decide how you’ll hold yourself accountable
• Explore what support or mindset shift you might need to move forward

Importantly, these aren’t “homework assignments” given by me, they’re co-created, based on what feels relevant and doable to you.

5. Closing and Reflection

At the end of the session we will summarise your goals and agree a suitable time for our next appointment. I will provide you with a written summary of our discussion and your agreed goals.