Episode 92

full
Published on:

22nd Apr 2026

Optimise Coaching Sessions: Balancing Support and Challenge

SUMMARY

Are you challenging your clients enough?

Let's talk about Keeping Coaching Impactful

Angie and John discuss the client journey in coaching and the risk of sessions becoming comfortable, friendly chats rather than driving transformation. They emphasise that coaching should produce progress, expansion, and results, not “a $500 cup of coffee,” and that clients’ outcomes are the best advertisement and referral source for a coach.

They explore how effective challenge varies by client—some need gentle coaxing while others want direct feedback—while maintaining balance so clients aren’t discouraged or pushed just for the sake of it. They highlight the importance of setting standards, asking permission to go deeper, checking in with clients about what would make sessions more impactful, and staying nimble during calls to avoid avoidance and surface-level conversation. They note empathy has a place during life events, but coaching is not therapy or mere emotional comfort.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Coaching Chat Trap

01:31 500 Dollar Coffee

02:45 Friends vs Coach Role

04:12 Tailoring Challenge Style

06:09 Spectrum of Feedback

10:49 Permission to Go Deeper

18:14 Results Drive Referrals

19:43 Coach Energy and Prep

22:02 Hugs Therapy and Boundaries

26:30 Final Takeaways

Want to contact the show? You can leave us a voicemail. It's free to do, and we might feature you on our next episode. All you need to do is go to https://speakpipe.com/thecoachingclinicpodcast and leave us a message. You can also find our clips and full episodes on the exclusive Coaching Clinic YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@coachingclinicpodcast

You can send us a video or voice message on LinkedIn:

John's LinkedIn Profile or go to PresentInfluence.com for coaching enquiries with John

Angie's LinkedIn Profile or visit AngieSpeaks.com

2023 Present Influence Productions Coaching Clinic: scale your business, acquire high ticket clients & master coaching skills 92

Transcript
John:

Hey, Angie,

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Angie: Hey, John.

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John: have you ever had that experience

with a client where sometimes it

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just feels like they love showing

up for a chat rather than really

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making any progress with you?

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Angie: yeah, definitely.

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Run, run, run.

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Go ahead.

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John: Yeah, I think I have to, I

thought it would be good for us to

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discuss that and the client journey and

experience and really, why it matters

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so much for us to not fall into that

trap of comfortable, pleasant, nice

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conversations, but we're actually making

sure that our clients are getting results.

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Angie: Super valid.

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Absolutely.

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Let's do it.

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John: Let's do it.

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Let's open the clinic.

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So, Angie, this is on my mind

as to, the whole client journey.

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And I can't remember what triggered

this, this sort of thought for me, I

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must've seen something that someone

posted about, about customer journeys.

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I think.

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Well, what's that like

for coaching clients?

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Because I think clients can end up

having very different experiences.

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What really matters in coaching is that

the clients are getting transformation.

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They are becoming bigger and different,

and they're progressing rather than

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they just get to show up and have a nice

conversation with their coach each week.

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Angie: That's so funny because the

first thing that jumps into my head is

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back when I, I used to work for a, as

we know, right, John and I have worked

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for various coaching companies and.

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one of the companies I worked

for, I dunno what it was,

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let's just call it $500, right?

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Was the, was the cost of a session and,

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The trainer, you know, used to say, you

need to challenge these clients, right?

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We're not sitting and

having a $500 cup of coffee.

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That statement has resonated forever

and never, and it, it, funny enough,

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has become a bit of a checkpoint for me.

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Like after a session, I might

even say to myself at times.

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Was that a $500, whatever

that number is, right?

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I'm just using that number.

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But was that a $500 cup of coffee?

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or was that an impactful, conversation or

a session, but yeah, so it's just funny

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that you, you brought that up today.

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John: I think it is, it is one of, it is

one of those things that we do sometimes

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have clients who we perhaps connect

with a little more than some others.

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That's life.

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You know, we connect more deeply

with some people than others.

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and we may even look forward more to some

particular client's calls than others.

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We, we've discussed that before,

but, but we didn't so much discuss

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it from the perspective of there

may be clients who are like, you

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might think in other circumstances

would be really good pals for you.

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but that's not what the

coaching relationship is

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really supposed to be about.

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And I thought, can you be friends

with your coaching clients?

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We, we have discussed that on,

on another episode, but I, I

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think it's come a few times.

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I, and I do think it's a bit of a.

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Yes, but maybe after you've worked

together, if you get on really well.

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because otherwise that is going

to screw up the dynamic of the

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coaching situation, and that's

really what we're talking about.

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So it, it's a comfortable trap to

fall into that you like talking to the

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client and you get on with them and

they're paying you money for this as

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well, but they like talking to you too.

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And they probably don't really want

to mention so much that well was,

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they're getting some value from

friendship and good conversations.

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They're not really.

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Getting what they probably came to you

for, which is transformation and progress.

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Angie: Yeah, I, you know,

it's so true and it's so easy.

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Especially, you know, like you said

earlier, you know, we've talked about

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this a little bit, like long-term clients.

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And there's that familiarity.

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And is that working against you or

does that, you know, work against you?

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It makes your job actually

harder and not easier.

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You know, complacency

and all of the things.

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But if you go back, if we go back to

the beginning of the relationship,

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you know, I think that we have to

set that standard for ourselves.

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And also, here's the thing, I

don't know if we should decide.

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What an impactful session looks like, and

I think that can change the conversation.

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So here's what I mean.

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Briefly, I've had a couple of

conver, a couple of clients over

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the years that did not want hard.

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Direct pushing.

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They, or, you know, probing.

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They did.

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They didn't want that.

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It didn't work for them.

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It was, it had to be much more subtle.

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And if anybody's ever heard me talk or

met me in person, you know that one of

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the things that you, words you would

never use to describe me is subtle.

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So, but that taught me

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John: Softball may be, but not softball.

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Angie: I am supple.

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It's true, but the truth of the matter

is like, you know, meeting people where

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they're at and then elevating that

at that moment I think is important.

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But I can't be exactly the

same with every single client.

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And I, and I do think that some people

respond better with a softer approach.

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That isn't as scary because the

last thing we want somebody to do

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is run like their head is on fire.

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But we also know that when there's change

on the horizon, Mike, it's looming.

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It's sitting there.

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There's resistance.

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We know that.

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So some clients need the harder

push, and some clients really

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just need a more subtle approach

to the probing that might feel.

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Or sound a little more friendlier,

a little more conversational.

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So that, that was just, you know,

something I wanted to highlight.

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John: it's interesting for, because

that, that, that's very relevant.

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I I, I have two clients at the

moment who sit at either each end of

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the spectrum you're talking about.

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There one is like he wants to.

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Go deeper on stuff, but he needs

to be gently coaxed into it.

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He can't just be confronted.

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we're gonna have the conversation.

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He wants to be challenged, but not in

a sort of in your face kind of way.

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And another client at the other end

of that who's like, give me feedback.

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Give me, you know, give me everything.

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Raw and dirty.

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I want, no, I just want

everything you got.

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Throw it at me and then we'll deal it.

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And even with that permission, I,

I said bit like, he's saying, oh,

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you're telling me everything here.

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And I said, well, look, the, they have

to draw a line somewhere between giving

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you feedback and, and just beating you

up because I'm not here to do that.

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I'm, I'm not here to, I'm

not here to discourage you.

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I want to challenge you.

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It's like, yes, I can give you more,

but I'm also very aware of my goal

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is not to give you so much that you.

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Angie: Yeah.

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John: That you feel like packing

in or that we, that we, I'm

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not here to test your limit.

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I'm really, you know, I'm here willing

to challenge you and make sure that

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you get challenged the way you want to.

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But, you know, this, this isn't, this

isn't a, a sex dungeon where, you

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know, you get the master and slave,

but you get the master and slave.

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Angie: Where'd you, where?

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And ladies and gentlemen,

we'll be right back.

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John: So, yeah, I have, I have a

friend who's a dominatrix, I would

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say a professional dominatrix.

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She's not a, she's not a prostitute.

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She doesn't have sex with them.

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but these, these guys pay her, they pay

her money to be mean to them, to punish

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Angie: So I'm in the wrong, so

basically I'm in the wrong industry.

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No, I'm sorry.

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I, I don't mean, I don't mean to poke fun,

but I'm gonna tell all of you listening.

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I had no idea what Jock was

gonna say today, and I'm just

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a little surprised right now.

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That's all.

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I'm just enjoying this open,

really open conversation.

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I'm sorry.

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Please continue.

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John: So look, this is, this is a

friend who's also a professional

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speaker and she talks about this.

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She's written books about, that sort of

mentality, that lessons, lessons that

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could be related from that experience

that are very valuable and empowering.

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So, you know, it's, it's not,

not just being dirty here.

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I'm, I'm really just talking

about, the goal is not to beat

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them up or to whip them into shape.

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even if, even if they're asking for it,

even if they're paying you the money,

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you, you're not trying to make them small

or you're not trying to, diminish them.

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You, you still need to have that balance

of encouragement and push as well.

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Even if they're asking you

to, alright, alright, give

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it to me powder and dirty or.

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Is let, let's not go further

down that one, but, but you

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get what I'm saying here.

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These, these are,

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Angie: I, I think I'm ing right now.

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I blush.

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John: these, these are these kind

kind of extremes of like one person

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just like, all right, go for it.

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Throw everything.

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You gotta me.

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And, you know, we'll tough it all out, Mr.

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Resilience and on all of this.

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Great.

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But the other guy was like,

alright, help me do it.

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And, and there's a, there's

a a, a scale in between.

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There's a, what's a whole spectrum in

between of, of where people are at.

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So yeah, working with each

client is gonna be different.

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And guess you wanna meet the needs to

some point, but you still need to stay.

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You with that, you still need to have

permission when you go forward with that.

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and you still want to make sure that

you're not just challenging people for

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the sake of challenging them or, or

not pushing them hard enough because

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you want to keep them comfortable,

and not have them saying, oh,

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actually this would make me a little

uncomfortable Sometimes we have to be

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willing to have to say the things that.

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They may not want to hear because they're

there as our client, not there as to, to

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like us with, they're not our fan club.

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Angie: Well, I mean, I think that

there's a, an art form to that.

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You know, I think that we as

coaches need to be nimble enough to.

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Have it maybe not always be easier, right?

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Or not always be more difficult.

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I think even the person who's like, you

know, as you said, give it to me dirty.

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I don't even know what to say.

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But even with those people

kind of keeping some, level of.

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I don't wanna say autonomy, but some shift

of energy in each of the sessions because

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that helps it remain a little bit more

novel and not become overly comfortable.

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At the end of it though, we also have

to be able to, how do I wanna say this?

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right.

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We have to be impact driven

and if there, like, so for me.

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If I feel like there's a little, maybe

too much conversation and you know the

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person is easily distracted, right?

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They start to, I mean, we talk about

one thing, they go to something else,

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there's avoidance and all of the things.

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I really have no problem, you know?

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Hey, this, I think we talked about

this a year ago by now, you know, at

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the end of every session I always ask

a question about the session, a rating

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of some kind, so that I have an idea of

what is really resonating, and I will

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check in and say, so occasionally, you

know, if this could be more impactful

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for you, how could we shift, right?

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How could we shift these conversations?

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Do you feel like, 'cause some

people do, they want a cheerleader,

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they need the cheerleader.

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Some people want it to be, you know,

a certain way, come, you know, come

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at me, challenge me all you want.

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And it will resonate differently

with different people.

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But even while we're being

like, say, let's just say

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friendly, we're not friends and

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we always have to keep that in mind.

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We have to keep in mind that sometimes,

you know how, like we just have,

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sometimes we have easier clients.

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More difficult clients.

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When I think of a more difficult

client, it's not that they're a

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difficult person per se, but they're

very tough to get to the core.

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Like there's so much more probing

because they're very comfortable giving

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you right or surface level answers.

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So I have to probe, I have to keep going.

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I have to find the nuggets right,

of gold or you know, whatever it is.

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So.

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John: that in a way of s

slamming your fist down.

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Like, tell me now,

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Angie: Yeah,

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John: it's not how you do it.

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Angie: you know, I recently

had a newer client say to me,

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you know, I don't understand.

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I feel like you're looking for bad,

like, and said it to me that way.

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And I said, I'm not looking for

bad, I'm looking for the challenges.

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Right.

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Because we're having a

very surface conversation.

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That's not the goal here, right?

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The goal isn't to just have an

overarching, how was your week or

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you know, your month or whatever,

and just have a conversation.

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We need to, if you want there to be some

kind of an outcome, there has to be, I

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don't know if it's a stress, but we have

to apply levels of pressure to keep it

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out of that comfort zone and you know,

maybe that's just part of what they did.

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They don't understand

what coaching actually is.

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John: yeah, it, they might be

thinking that it's almost like a

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psych evaluation that they have

to pass or, or not fully, no.

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Maybe, maybe not.

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Always fully trusting that what's

being said on the coaching calls

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is actually gonna be confidential.

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I mean, so you don't necessarily know, or.

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Some people are, are not familiar

with actually having those safe,

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confidential environments where they

can open up and, and where somebody

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is holding that space for them.

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So, you know, there's, there's stuff

to talk about and address there, but

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it's not getting up in someone's face

saying, tell me everything right now.

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it is like working with

them in the right way to.

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Uncover what is actually gonna help them.

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Help help them grow because

yeah, surface conversations

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are not gonna get you very far.

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And sometimes clients, sometimes

clients will recognize that, that

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they're not going deep enough and

they want to be challenged further.

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I've had that with clients

I've worked with as well.

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It's like, we can go deeper here.

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And you have, I ask permission.

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Can we, do I have your permission to

challenge you a bit harder on that then?

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Because I think.

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Sometimes it's that think of, you don't

always want to say stuff to clients

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because they might react negatively.

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And this is where you would say, Hey,

look, there's something I wanna say

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here, and it's probably gonna be a little

uncomfortable and challenging for you.

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Am I, am I okay to say it or would

you prefer, actually, I'm not

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sure I can handle that right now.

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Let's, or, or find a way to find a

way to ease into this because you have

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to check in and meet the mother app.

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Angie: I did that last week.

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I mean, I have some clients that

will ask me, I know this is not, it's

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not directly on topic, but they'll

say, Hey, so what do you think?

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And we all know, I don't really like to

share a perspective, you know, because

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I know that if they're asking, they're

looking for like some kind of validation.

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Not so much direction, but I navigate it.

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And last week.

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I was very direct with

two different clients.

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One of them did ask and I told them

something that I said, listen, I know

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this is going to sound uncomfortable,

but I have a trained ear and sometimes

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your rate of speech is increasing and

you know, it's hard to understand you.

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I get that, you know, and I, you

know, I wanna soften and say I get it

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because hey, I'm from the Northeast.

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I speak quickly.

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My Northeastern accent comes out

when I speak more quickly, and then

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I'm just not as impactful, right?

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So I was trying to soften it and the

other client, it was, You know, oh,

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you know, I, their perspective was,

oh, I think that sometimes I can be

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perceived as difficult or overly direct.

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And I said, well, if I might, you

know, let, can I share an experience?

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And she said, yeah.

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And I told her, I said, you and I

had a conversation and you said, you

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know, deep de, deep de, you know,

you're looking for the negative.

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You're looking for the bad.

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And I said, when you said that to me, if

I was not confident in what I do, I might

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have been, I might have been taken aback.

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Like it was a little bit

like reprimand ish, you know?

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And I was honest.

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And of course after the session

I'm saying to myself, you know, is

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it really okay to be that direct?

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And I said, you know what?

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Yes it is.

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I can't be uncomfortable because

of their discomfort, right?

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So I asked for permission.

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I got it.

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I didn't have to, you know, I

didn't have them sign off and

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say, you sure this is okay?

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'cause I don't wanna trigger you.

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But sometimes I do think it's worth

shocking thing, you know, but not making

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it up and making it more brash in some

way, but that, that will, that will change

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an entire conversation or relationship

when you are, effective and when you're

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being more direct with people and less

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John: I, I would say so.

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Yeah.

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And, and a specific example of that, that

client who I said was like the other end

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of the spectrum, being very, don't treat

me gen, treat me gently, kind of thing.

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Who has given permission to push a

bit harder and go deeper on things.

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we've been doing that in, in a really

constructive way, and I would say that,

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Angie: it the how John, right.

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For us it's like you can do,

you can be very direct with like

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what you said in a, it's how.

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You artistically as a coach

do that probing that's going

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to make the difference.

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John: And so one of the thing, one of

the things I particularly had recognized

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was that there was, an opportunity

for a deeper level of presence.

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And so we were doing some work on that

and, and it did push it a bit harder.

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And I will say, on, on the last call

that we were on, I've never seen

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him looking so happy in present.

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And it was like, and I and I, I brought

it up on the call and like, yeah, that

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wouldn't have happened if we hadn't

made that push to go a bit deeper.

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But it's not just that from, from a

coach's perspective, your clients are your

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best advertisement for, for what you do.

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They are your best re your best

referral source a lot of the time.

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And if they're just having a

nice time chatting with you.

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That doesn't really, it sounds

like, oh, I'm looking for a coach.

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You have a coach, don't

you tell me about that.

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And they're like, oh yeah, we

have really great conversations.

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I look forward to the calls.

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My coach is lovely.

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Really like working with them.

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It's like, all right.

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And what, what's changed for you since

we, since you started doing the coaching?

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Oh, well, we had some goals, but you

know, we more or less just sort of just

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get, get together and chat each week.

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Now you think is that person who's

talking to them gonna think, oh

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right, I need to work with that coach.

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No, no, they're not good.

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They, well, good for you.

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but, you know, I, I would want

something a bit more from my coach.

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but you get the other, other side of that,

of, someone's, someone says, oh, hey, hey.

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I've been working, working

with my coach for ages.

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My life was transformed.

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my, my business results are

more than I even expected.

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I've seen so big changes in

my professional and personal

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life, and it's come from.

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It's all come from working with this coach

and you know, great to talk to and all

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that, but I also get really challenged

in my sessions and, it is been worth

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every penny and more for doing that.

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You think that's a bit of a better advert

for your coaching, don't you think?

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Angie: Yeah.

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Yeah.

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I always think about it, like, I can't

even look at it in terms of like, what

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would I, how would I want coaching?

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Because how I receive coaching,

it needs to like, it, it's, you,

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you and I have talked about this.

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It really needs to be direct.

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It doesn't have to hurt per se, but

because I'm, I am, I'm, I'm so highly

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self-aware and I, I think that if we keep.

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That in mind that not

everybody is number one.

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And the impact, right?

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The the goal is to have impact

and every single session

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isn't going to be skyrockets.

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There are gonna be sessions that

might feel a little benign, a

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little vanilla, and we might say

to ourselves, as coaches, we might

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question like, did I challenge enough?

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And we should be asking

ourselves that anyway, right?

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Even on the greatest obsessions

where somebody is like, oh my

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gosh, Angie, I never realized that.

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That's a great win and we wanna,

you know, use that as kind of the

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springboard into what comes next.

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But even when that's happened,

especially when it's not, we

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:

need to do that bit of analysis.

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Did I get lazy today?

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Did I just allow the call

to be conversational?

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Because I don't know, I didn't have

the mental, emotional or, or, you

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:

know, physical bandwidth to show up.

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You know, I, I have

definitely experienced that.

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So, you know, I have some rules

that I've set for myself, some

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boundaries, like the work night before.

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I don't go out anywhere.

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I don't do anything.

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I go to bed early so I can wake up early.

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There's practices that I keep in

place for me because I know, you know,

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John knows I had a headache today.

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So I'm like, oh, John, how are you, Angie?

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Oh my God.

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I have a splitting

headache, which is now gone.

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I had some caffeine.

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I feel a little bit better, but point is.

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You know, sometimes we have to really

check ourselves before going in.

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Am I ready to.

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Be the best coach I can

be for this person today.

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Do I have the bandwidth in all

of my energy spaces to provide

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that or am I gonna be lazy?

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And the answer is no.

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Can't be lazy.

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Doesn't matter if you

have a headache, right?

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You still have to get up and,

and do it and not allow things

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to be, it's just a waste, you

know, not be a wasted opportunity.

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John: Yeah, look, I, I've seen, you may

or may or may not have heard of this, but

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there's these, like gig economy kind of

works jobs now where people are putting

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themselves on the market to be a hug

buddy and they'll just go around and, and

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hug or cut, cuddle someone for a while.

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Not, nothing, nothing rude

about anything that is

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Angie: All right.

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It's not sexually

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John: It's not at all sexual.

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it is, it is, you know, phy people

wanna be, feel, touch and, and feel

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loved and cared about and, and hugged

and, and, it's like, that's great,

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but that's not what coaching is.

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And so co coaching, coaching isn't,

sounds like you are given that sort of

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:

emotional, virtual hug kind of thing, but

it's not really what coaching is about.

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it's not what it's for.

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But, he's, it is more

about challenging them.

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It's more about helping

to grow, to develop.

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Sometimes, sometimes a bit of that

caring is needed in a coaching session,

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Angie: Oh gosh.

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Yeah.

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John: It's, it's not just

there to give them that warm

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:

huggy feeling the whole time.

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and that shouldn't be what

they're paying for either.

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:

And, and I think this is a trap that

coaches some do sometimes fall into

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:

of, you know, this, the, the velvet

trap really of it is just, it's nice.

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So I'm helping the client because

they have this nice environment

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:

where they can talk you right.

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It's, that's not coaching,

it's more counseling.

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So creating that sort of space just

for them, you want to, you want them

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:

to have that and, and more If you're

not really helping them to expand

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:

and to transform in positive ways,

you're not really coaching them.

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:

So, so I think that you

have to look at it from

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:

Angie: that's

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John: as like, this is your results,

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:

Angie: I think it's situational.

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:

I think it depends.

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Like I've been, you know, I've worked

with some clients, and again, I don't

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:

think time has anything to do with it,

but when you work with people over long

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:

periods of time, you happen to go through

life cycles and seasons with them.

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:

It could be a birth, it could

be a death, it could be a

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divorce, it could be a marriage.

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:

And I think sometimes in those harder.

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:

In the harder times

when they are emotional.

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:

Again, we're not counselors,

we're not therapists.

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:

And some of you may be those

things and if you incorporate that

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:

into your sessions, have at it.

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:

But if you're not licensed in any of

those ways, you can still be empathetic.

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:

You can still say, Hey, I'm

sorry that your cat died.

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:

I'm, I'm, I'm just not

being extreme like that.

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:

It's a family member.

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:

John: Sure, but those are instances.

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:

Angie: Correct.

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:

John: within the coaching journey.

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:

Angie: Yeah.

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:

John: the coaching journey itself.

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:

And, and so that, that's, that's really

more sort of the overall big picture here

469

:

of yeah, there's gonna be elements of

this, that, and the other that come into

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:

your coaching, but ultimately the coaching

is of journey of progress and expansion

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:

and transformation and if those things

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:

Angie: It shouldn't be

the overarching theme.

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:

John: yeah.

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:

Angie: a hug, buddy.

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:

I wanna hug buddy.

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:

John: It sounds good.

477

:

Right?

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:

Angie: I'm like, I need a hug.

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:

I wanna hug

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:

John: Yeah, I'm just gonna lay

down, lay down on my bed for a bit.

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Someone just come and cuddle up to me

for a while and I, but not for too long.

482

:

'cause it needs to be, some,

needs to be someone who stays cool

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:

because I, I get super hot anyway.

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:

not in that way.

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:

Not in that way.

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:

Angie: No, I know what you mean.

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:

I mean, I'm a, I'm a, you know me,

I'm the human furnace, so I get it.

488

:

John: Yeah.

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:

I'm like that I, I run hot, but.

490

:

Angie: levels of challenge and really,

again, you know, you've heard me say

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:

this over and over, like the PACE

car, we have to know or maybe look

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:

for opportunities where we're not

splashing ice cold water on people.

493

:

That is not enjoyable for anybody.

494

:

Although I guess there might be

some people that are like, I love

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:

my annual polar plunge, go for it.

496

:

But in general, nobody

likes the shock of that.

497

:

You know, like in the morning

it's 5:00 AM and you're stepping

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:

into a nice cold shower.

499

:

Nobody wants that.

500

:

So I don't think we wanna create

a resistant environment either.

501

:

So we as coaches have to

navigate and read the energy.

502

:

Of the, you know, of the conversation,

of the session and, and, and not

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:

just check in before and after,

you know, be nimble during the,

504

:

the session and be able to say.

505

:

Is this becoming a little bit too

conversational and how, how do I get it

506

:

out of that if I'm actively aware of it?

507

:

You know, I think, you know,

there's ways we can do that.

508

:

We can talk more about that

later or at a different session.

509

:

But yeah, I think, yeah, I

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:

John: not doing therapy.

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:

You're not, you're not

their drill sergeant.

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:

You're not their mama.

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:

You, you're the coach.

514

:

And so sh show, show, show

up, show up as their coach.

515

:

Be, be the coach for them.

516

:

But do consider that, that the customer

client experience, that your, that

517

:

your clients have is the bedrock of

your business, and you want that to be.

518

:

Something that you would be happy for?

519

:

Know, you sort think if my clients

ever talk to somebody about their

520

:

experience of working with me, the

likelihood is those people, if they

521

:

think about coach, they think, oh

wow, I need to work with your coach.

522

:

That should be what we're,

what we're aiming for as

523

:

Angie: sure.

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:

John: Cool.

525

:

All right.

526

:

Well I think there's

been a good, a good chat.

527

:

Angie's been lovely to get together

with you again and we'll be back more

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:

soon with some more coach clinic.

Listen for free

Show artwork for Coaching Clinic: scale your business, acquire high ticket clients & master coaching skills

About the Podcast

Coaching Clinic: scale your business, acquire high ticket clients & master coaching skills
The show for professional coaches who want to scale their business and master their craft
Coaching Clinic is the go-to podcast for new and experienced professional coaches who want to grow a thriving, sustainable business and get better results with clients. Hosted by veteran coaches John Ball and Angela Besignano, this weekly show delivers actionable coaching strategies, business-building insights, and real-world tools to help you attract clients, master your craft, and scale with confidence. From powerful client conversations to group coaching design, sales, mindset, and marketing—this is your backstage pass to what really works in coaching today.

About your hosts

John Ball

Profile picture for John Ball
From former flight attendant to international coach and trainer, on to podcaster and persuasion expert, it's been quite the journey for John.
John has been a lead coach and trainer with the Harv Eker organisation for over 10 years and is currently focused on helping his clients develop their personal presentation skills for media and speaking stages through his coaching business brand Present Influence.
He's the author of the upcoming book Podfluence: How To Build Professional Authority With Podcasts, and host of the Podfluence podcast with over 150 episodes and over 15,000 downloads John is now focused on helping business coaches and speakers to build a following and grow your lead flow and charisma.
You can now also listen to John on The Coaching Clinic podcast with his good friend and colleague Angie Besignano where they are helping coaches create sustainable and successful businesses, and the Try To Stand Up podcast where John is on a personal and professional mission to become funnier on the stage and in his communication.

Angie Besignano

Profile picture for Angie Besignano
With early beginnings as an entry-level manager in the sales industry, Angie has spent more than 3 decades building her knowledge and expertise to create her master coaching and speaking brand, AngieSpeaks. After climbing the professional ladder, she started her own company and decided to focus her practice on High Performance Coaching. In doing so, she challenges individuals to elevate and grow, no matter what level they are at currently in their personal or professional lives.
Angie has created a strong following through her “tough” but “pragmatic” approach and challenges her clients to find the space that is holding them back the most. In doing so, their outcomes not only compound, but take root, so that results can be permanent. The tools she provides work in the “real” world and show up in their first interaction.
Angie has an unwavering passion toward the journey that fosters a true transformation for those that work with her. She delivers her content and speaking engagements with an authentic enthusiasm and curiosity that creates trust and rapport, allowing for a heightened experience.