Coaching cut #1: 'what if' questions

Coaching cuts: bite-sized tips for better coaching

Welcome to your first coaching cut!

'Why coaching ‘cut’?

Because every post will include a video… but mainly for the alliteration.

Today’s tip: use' ‘what if’ questions to push your coachee’s thinking…

Today’s cut: Coach Caroline delves deep into coachee Cat’s brilliant use of the technique ‘no opt out’. This technique can take different forms but teachers use it to ensure ‘I don’t know’ is not the student’s final answer.

Watch how coach Caroline pushes coachee Cat’s thinking by asking her ‘what would you have done if…?’ (There’s a bit of lead in first…)

Why might ‘what if’ questions be powerful?

• ‘What if’ questions cause your coachee to mentally simulate a situation - this is like pressing ‘play’ on a situation in their minds. This seems to be how experts make decisions in new situations.

• Simulating situations tells you if your coachee can accurately imagine what might happen and choose appropriate actions, i.e. it gives you insight into the quality of their mental model of the situation.

• We want to squeeze every drop of learning out of our coaching. ‘What if’ questions take your coachee beyond what happened in the lesson, exercising and sometimes extending their mental model.

When would and wouldn’t you use them?

Use what if questions when you want to push your coachee’s thinking and check the quality of their mental model of the situation.

Don’t use them too often. Why? They may detract from the small target (often called an ‘action step’) you are working on in the session. Too many ‘what ifs’ and we could lose sight of the main point of the coaching.

Don’t use them on a teacher who is just getting to grips with the basics of a technique. Thinking of ‘what if’ may be overloading. Caroline uses it at the start of the conversation when probing something Cat did well. She pushes her thinking further because Cat has expertise in this area and won’t get overloaded by the question.

Now try ‘what if’ questions this week in your coaching!

Get in touch: sarahcottinghatt@outlook.com and adam88kohlbeck@gmail.com for support with your coaching, training coaches and implementing coaching.

HUGE thanks to Caroline Sherwood and Cat New - coaching dream team.

Follow them:

@Caroline_Alice_ @carolinesherwood.bsky.social

@catnew86