As I’ve mentioned previously, coaching for a presentation is part art and part science. The main goal of a Forum coaching session is to help the presenter get crystal clear on the core challenge they are facing and the ideal experience sharing they’d like to hear from the group. Forum coaching is the pre-game to the main show which happens at the actual Forum. To help you run a successful Forum coaching session, here are the top three “do-nots” of Forum Coaching:
- DO NOT give your own advice or experience during the coaching session. Save that for the presentation in the actual Forum meeting. Just focus on helping them figure out the core challenges and core experience share.
- DO NOT talk too much during the coaching session. Ask questions and let the presenter talk. Give them space to think, reflect, and revise their own thoughts in the moment. Sometimes the presenter will struggle to clearly state their challenge. In those situations, it’s okay to paraphrase what they said (after they said it) to help them say it better.
- DO NOT plant feelings and thoughts in their head. I call this “Leading the Witness.” For example, instead of saying, “Does that make you feel sad?” say “How does that make you feel?” If you say the word sad, then you are planting that idea in their head.