Powerful Coaching Questions, Grouped by Purpose
Powerful coaching questions are short, open and curious: they invite the person to think rather than to defend or guess what you want to hear. This page groups questions by what you are trying to do in a session, from opening and clarifying a goal to testing a belief and agreeing on an action. Do not use them as a script. Pick one that fits, ask it, then listen and stay quiet.
How to ask a question well
- One at a time. Stacking questions confuses people.
- Pause. Silence gives time to think. Count to five before you speak.
- Use "what" and "how." "What is getting in the way?" feels less like blame than "Why haven't you done it?"
- Use their words. Pick up a phrase they said and ask about it.
- If they say "I don't know." Wait. Then try: "If you did know, what might it be?"
- Stay curious. If you already know the answer you want, it is advice, not a question.
Opening a session
- What would you like to focus on today?
- What has been on your mind since we last spoke?
- What would make this session a good use of your time?
- How are you arriving today, in one word?
- What do you want to leave with?
- What would be a win for today?
Clarifying the goal
- What do you want, exactly?
- What would that look like if it were in place?
- How will you know you have reached it?
- If you could wave a wand, what would be different?
- What is the smallest version of this goal?
- On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you want this?
For a method that builds on these, see the GROW coaching model.
Exploring where they are now
- What is happening now?
- What have you tried so far?
- What worked, even a little?
- What is getting in the way?
- What are you tolerating?
- How is this affecting the rest of your life?
Finding options
- What could you do?
- What else?
- What would you do if you had no fear?
- What would someone you admire do?
- What is the opposite of what you have been doing?
- What is the easiest first step?
- What would you tell a friend in the same position?
Values and motivation
- What matters to you most here?
- When do you feel most like yourself?
- What would you regret not trying?
- Whose approval do you need, and whose do you not?
- What energizes you?
- What would your best self do?
Beliefs and obstacles
- What are you telling yourself about this?
- Is that story true? How do you know?
- What is another way to look at it?
- What would you need to believe to move forward?
- What is the cost of staying the same?
- What is within your control here?
For a worksheet approach to this stage, see limiting beliefs examples.
Commitment and action
- What will you do, and by when?
- What might get in the way, and how will you handle it?
- How will you remember?
- Who can support you?
- How confident are you, from 1 to 10? What would make it a 7 or 8?
- What is the first step you can take in the next 24 hours?
- How would you like me to hold you accountable?
Reflecting and closing
- What is your biggest takeaway today?
- What did you discover about yourself?
- What would you like to remember from this session?
- What do you want to bring next time?
- What do you appreciate about yourself right now?
Hard moments
- What feels difficult about this?
- What do you need right now?
- What would be kind to yourself here?
- Would you like to pause, or keep going?
- What is true, and what is a worry?
- What support would help beyond coaching?
A note on care
If a client shares something that sounds like a crisis or a health issue, stop coaching on that topic. Say you are glad they told you, and suggest speaking with a qualified professional or local emergency services. Coaching does not diagnose or treat, and questions are not a substitute for care.
Questions for a first call
A discovery call uses a lighter set. Pick four or five rather than all of them:
- What made you reach out now rather than six months ago?
- What would you like to be different three months from now?
- What have you already tried, and what did you learn from it?
- What is getting in the way?
- How will you know that coaching has been worth it?
- What support do you have around you right now?
More on that conversation is in the first coaching session checklist, and the wider picture of the role is in what a life coach does.
Build your own bank
Keep a page of the questions that work for you. After each session, note which one opened the most. Over time your own list will beat any generic one.
The ready-made bank
The ReadyCoach Kit includes a Coaching Questions Bank in its Session Toolkit: 70 open questions in nine groups (opening a session, clarifying the goal, exploring where the client is now, finding options, values and motivation, beliefs and obstacles, commitment and action, reflecting and closing, and hard moments), with advice on how to use a question well and a page for your favorite questions. The Discovery Call Guide adds a list of questions for the first conversation. Documents are editable in Word and Google Docs, with PDFs.