Never underestimate the importance of building rapport because it is the key ingredient to successful coaching. The capacity in which you build rapport determines how well you build a solid relationship with your clients. A successful coach must understand the clients view of the world. To truly understand and appreciate the clients worldview, the coach must detach from personal and professional bias. Successful detachment can only be manifested when the clients best interest is put first. In order to view the relationship from what is the termed the second-person perspective, the coach must actually place himself in the perspective of the client. The second-person position allows the coach to remove himself from the center of attention. This technique requires skill and practice. There are several techniques used to build rapport. The first technique is called the well-formed outcome. It is used to establish the clients needs and to secure a certain level of knowledge about the clients perspective. When establishing rapport, the coach will ask a series of questions such as: What are your expectations of this coaching relationship? Why are these expectations important to you? What will these expectations give you once yo |
