The Use of Presuppositions in Coaching

July 2nd, 2010

There are always two sides to the coaching process. One, where things are clearly said and clearly understood and the other one, when not all is said explicitly yet plenty can be detected “in between the lines”.

Every good coach can and should with a bit of experience and focus become skillful in detecting the above. Once done, it is necessary to question the client on all that was not said but “felt” nevertheless.

It’s not that clients are necessarily trying to hide any information from their coach. There are simply some situations when the client would not even dare admitting that “this is actually what I really, really want”.

If that is the case, the coach needs to approach the situation gently and this is a perfect moment to use the presupposition questions.

Presupposition questions got their name from the fact that they “pre-suppose” that everything is possible and all the clients have to do is to go and grab it. Obviously, this is exaggerated and not so easy. However, what matters the most is that removing all the limitations and boundaries, even if just hypothetically, provides the client with momentum.

By allowing themselves to dream freely and think big, clients enter another world, a world of endless possibilities and opportunities. Surprisingly, once there, clients are in most cases fully capable of developing a very realistic plan how to proceed towards the dream they would not even have acknowledged before!

When use correctly, the presupposition questions and techniques are very powerful and should be part of every coach’s “toolbox”.

Natalie Ekberg is an international personal and executive coach and offers self-improving, motivational and coaching e-courses and e-books as well as face to face or telephone coaching.