First Coaching Session Questions: 24 Questions to Set Up the Engagement
The first session decides how the whole engagement will feel. Its job is not to solve anything; it is to agree how you will work, understand the client's world, and give them one real moment of insight so they know what coaching is. These questions cover all three.
- Contracting — 6 questions
- The client's picture — 6 questions
- Success — 6 questions
- A first piece of coaching — 6 questions
Contracting
Agree how you will work together (ICF Competency 3).
- “What do you know about coaching, and what do you expect from me?”
- “How would you like me to challenge you — gently, directly, or hard?”
- “What should stay confidential, and from whom?”
- “What would make this a waste of your time?”
- “How will we handle it if you stop finding this useful?”
- “What do you want to have by the end of our work together?”
The client's picture
Understand the world before the goal.
- “What's going on in your life and work right now?”
- “What brought you to coaching at this particular time?”
- “Who else is affected by what you want to change?”
- “What have you already tried?”
- “What are you proud of that most people don't know?”
- “What are you tolerating?”
Success
Define what different looks like.
- “If our work together succeeds, what will be different in three months?”
- “How will you know?”
- “What will others notice?”
- “What would be a good enough result — and a great one?”
- “What's the first sign of progress you'd expect?”
- “What will you do with that progress?”
A first piece of coaching
Give the client the experience, not the explanation.
- “Of everything you've said, where is the most energy?”
- “What's the real challenge in that for you?”
- “What's the story you tell yourself about it?”
- “What would you do if you trusted yourself?”
- “What's one small step before next time?”
- “What are you taking from this first conversation?”
How to use these questions
- •Do the contracting out loud, even with a friendly client. It is what makes hard feedback possible later.
- •Leave 15 minutes for actual coaching. A first session that is all paperwork tells the client coaching is talking about coaching.
- •Write down the client's own words for success; you will use them to review the engagement.
First Session coaching questions FAQ
What should happen in a first coaching session?+
Three things: agree how you will work (confidentiality, style, expectations), understand the client's situation and what success looks like, and coach for a few minutes so the client experiences it. Most first sessions run 60 to 90 minutes.
What questions should I avoid in a first session?+
Anything that jumps to solutions or advice, and anything that probes trauma or clinical territory. The first session is about the working alliance and the client's picture, not fixing.
How is a first session different from a discovery call?+
A discovery call decides whether to work together. The first session begins the work: contracting, the client's picture, and the first coaching.
Related question sets
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