AC112 Powerful Requests

Facilitator: Sherry Read
2009/3/16 & 23

Challenge: stretches the clients from comfort zone, while
Request: actually moves client to some direction.

What is powerful request?
- Challenging people to move beyond their UAC
- Help prepare the person to move somewhere that they need a little pressure to the direction, the direction they want
- It should be always something that they are doing for themselves

Bold request must be the resource from client, not from a coach. It must be something clients mentioned or said. (Where is that bold request coming from? Could it turn on the light to the clients?) If we do not make the request from clients, it turns on establish the clients’ feeling of failure because they could not make it. They just try but not commit to it. It is powerful when the requests come from clients.

Clients do what they need to do to move forward. It could be challenging for them to move out the comfort zone, but this action could come along with growth or learning. Sometimes the request does not get done by the clients. It is not necessary if the clients really do it, because the powerful request could provide some new reflections and new directions of the coaching session or discussion.

How do you structure your bold request at beginning, middle and the end?
Begin – prepare the clients, ask for the permission
Middle – further discussion, why possible or not possible?
End – put on the schedule for client’s action plan

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When we talk about powerful request
- we ask permission
- we prepare our clients
- clients could say “no”

How to prepare to make a powerful request? What would you imagine the things that you need to take into consideration to make a bold request? Is it O.K. to push forward?
- Whether is it realistic, achievable
- Something they would like to step forward (they feel comfortable)
- Break down the big (long-term) goal into small (short-term) goals
- Communicate around clients’ language, value and the ultimate goals
- Acknowledge of what you have done and ask for why not complete the rest?

What if the powerful request has been made, clients said O.K. but in the next week, they did not do anything about it?
- Whether I asked too much and adjust the request

Bold request needed to be aligned with the personal goals
- Revisit the goals to see if it’s really something they want
- How would you feel about accomplishing that goal and how about not achieving that goal?

What if they said it’s really want they want, give me one more week?
- I notice that you are carrying the goal but not making any progress.

What if clients’ have many excuses?
- Turning it back to them about their goal but not the bold request
- Goal mapping: the goal might come from outside pressure but not their real goals.

If a client says “I really do not want to achieve it. It is not my goal”, this is the achievement of self-awareness. Then we could open further discussion: what do you really want?

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Visualization of Love (10-15 minutes)
- Relax your entire body
- Think of a moment you feel completely loved
- Hold down that love to every part of your body
- Extending the love to people around you, everybody
- Make them feel the same way. Feeling the love like you
- Imagine the they give the love back to you
- They interact with love
- It’s a love circle
- Think of the different result (change) that everyone and you would have done in the future