How often do you work with a client who resists taking action because he or she is stuck and cannot see the situation from a different perspective?
As a Certified Professional Life Coach you can help your clients reframe the situation in order to help them see it from a fresh approach—a new perspective.
Someone has probably shown the photo in this post to you and asked: “Do you see a young woman or an old woman?” If you see an old woman when you look at the photo initially, can you change your perspective so you can now see the young woman? Or visa versa? In order to see the other image you did not first see, you had to adjust your perspective when you looked at the image again, didn’t you? That’s an example of reframing!
Now, let’s look at a few statements that you may hear from a client that present opportunities to help your client get a new perspective. . As a Coach, you can practice the skill of reframing with each of the following statements. How? By responding with a question to help the client see the situation from a fresh, new perspective.
Here is an example: “I’m too old” Reframe: “How can your experience and wisdom add value to the situation?”
Now, your turn.
“I’m too young.”
“I wasted alot of time going through all those interviews just to be turned down.”
“What if I fail?”
As coaches, we know that change is more complex than simply helping a client to “reframe”; however, reframing is a technique to help your client move forward, think differently, challenge a limiting belief and invite possibility.
Janice LaVore-Fletcher, MCC, BCC, President and Founder of Christian Coach Institute is a professional Master Certified Coach and Coach Trainer, Licensed Human Behavior Trainer, speaker, and seminar leader, who uses her encouragement, passion, communication skills and “heart” to expand people’s thinking and inspire them to be all that God has called them to be.
