A client went to the gym twice. What you ask next decides which side of the problem they’re on. Dr. Deborah Teplow on questions that only sound Solution-Focused.
You don’t need to figure out what’s driving your client, and they don’t need insight before change begins. Dr. Deborah Teplow on connecting instead, and the questions that bring a better future to life.
Some clients want what coaching cannot deliver. Dr. Deborah Teplow on naming what is true without arguing, and asking the question that moves the conversation somewhere possible.
Every coaching conversation needs a destination before it can move. Dr. Deborah Teplow on the one question to ask before anything else.
Optimism helps clients believe in change. But the coaches who ask what happens when it doesn’t go well are the ones who help clients stay the course.
Motivation is a state. It fades when the client is tired or stressed. Why a described preferred future, not motivation, gives follow-through its best chance.
A client can talk at length. You don’t need the whole story, only one piece you can build on. How Solution-Focused listening works.
When a client returns saying nothing changed, there is one workable line in there. How to find it and build on what they are already doing.
When a client returns having done little or nothing, the pull is to move straight to action. But action before description doesn’t take root.
A good practitioner doesn’t just listen for empathy — they listen strategically. Here’s what the Solution-Focused Ear listens for, what it ignores, and why that distinction drives faster follow-through.