Life coaching offers great opportunities to help clients find more meaning in their lives or overcome challenges that are holding them back. But it’s not always easy to know how to best serve them. It takes more than knowledge — in fact, the best coaching comes from deep, intentional service.
With clients turning to you and trusting you for guidance, how can you make sure you’re providing the support they need? Whether you’re a new or experienced coach, there are simple steps you can take to better serve your clients.
We’ll provide you with valuable advice and insights to help you deepen your presence and elevate the customer experience, allowing you to coach with more heart and purpose.
How to know if you’re serving your life coaching clients
Whether you’re just starting out as a life coach or evaluating how you’re doing after years of experience, certain signs indicate that you’re succeeding in meeting customers’ needs.
- Do your clients feel safe and open with you? If they’re comfortable discussing their concerns and their hopes and dreams, that’s a sign that you’ve created a safe and welcoming space for them. Clients who trust you are willing to be vulnerable and honest with you.
- Are you seeing steady progress? Although most clients won’t change overnight, you should see gradual change or progress as they work with you. Successful coaching helps clients gain insights and shift their perspectives, while also motivating them to take small, aligned actions toward their goals.
- Do your questions make clients think? If you’re asking the right kinds of questions, clients often pause and reflect before answering. These questions encourage clients to go deeper and explore their thoughts and feelings.
- Do you feel grounded after sessions? Successful coaching sessions should have you feeling connected and purposeful rather than drained. This feeling means you’ve been able to help clients along the path to improving their lives — even if it’s just a small step.
These are a few small signs that are worth celebrating during your life coaching journey, but they’re not the only signs of success. If you’re coaching with presence and care, you’re already serving your clients in a powerful way.
7 ways to serve your coaching clients better
Even if you meet every sign of coaching success, there’s always room for improvement. Being an effective life coach is an ongoing process that you can refine as you go. We’ll explore several steps you can take to make sure you serve customers to the best of your ability.
1. Show up fully present
Clients need to feel seen and heard in order to be comfortable opening up to you. Being completely present right from the start of each session helps create the right environment for this.
Treat presence as the most powerful coaching tool you have. Before each session begins, eliminate distractions and take time to ground yourself. You might do breathing exercises, meditate, or practice mindfulness to help you feel present.
Being able to give clients your full attention encourages them to trust you and be vulnerable with you, making room for growth.
2. Practice active listening to understand, not to respond
Even if you’re eager to help clients, giving them space to gain insights and come up with solutions is more important. Instead of jumping to solutions, listen to clients in a deep, nonjudgmental way without making assumptions. Rather than responding, focus on understanding what they’re saying and allowing them to discover their own inner wisdom.
Active listening allows you to do this. When you practice active listening, you’re not just hearing the words your clients say. You’re also noting the tone of their voice, their body language, and their facial expressions. These cues can help you learn more about your clients, allowing you to meet their needs.
3. Ask powerful (not perfect) questions
There’s no standard set of questions to ask clients as a life coach. The right questions for each of your clients will vary based on their situation, goals, and concerns. The key is to trust yourself to come up with powerful follow up questions that open doors for your clients, encouraging them to think deeply about themselves and how they want to grow.
Focus on curiosity rather than performance. You’re not aiming for perfect questions — you’re aiming for questions that show you’re genuinely curious about your clients and their journey toward personal growth. These kinds of questions help clients feel validated and motivate them to explore their struggles and hopes.
4. Respect the client’s pace and process
Every client of yours is on their own unique journey. Some might move through this process faster, while others need more time to achieve their goals or make changes. The client experience will depend on how you respect that journey as a coach.
Be gentle and patient with coaching clients rather than pushing them too hard or trying to rush their journey. They need to be able to trust you in order to work on growth. Patience helps build this trust — pushiness or impatience erodes it.
Guide clients along the path to transformation, while allowing them to make progress at their own pace and approach problem-solving in ways that they’re comfortable with. This helps ensure a great experience for your clients.
5. Reflect and reframe with care
Compassion is a key part of successful life coaching that helps clients feel understood and validated. As you work with your clients, mirror what you hear in a compassionate and clear way. Instead of simply repeating a client’s words, reframe them in a supportive way.
As an example, let’s say a client talks about always failing when they try something new and feeling like they’ll never succeed. Rather than restating what they say, point out that their persistent efforts and experiences may be part of a learning process. This journey might ultimately help them discover what does work for them.
Thoughtfully reflecting on what clients say can help shift their perspective and deepen their self-awareness, allowing them to gain greater insights. They might see their situation or struggles in a new light that motivates them to work on transformational change.
6. Set and hold empowering boundaries
Serving clients involves creating an environment that encourages openness — with appropriate limits. Setting boundaries helps you model healthy, clear limits with clients. These aren’t barriers that make it harder to connect with clients. Think of them more as safe and respectful containers for coaching.
Boundaries help define the professional relationship you have with your clients, clarifying your role in their personal growth journey. You might set ethical boundaries up front, such as avoiding developing a personal relationship with clients or getting personally involved in their lives. You can also set practical boundaries, like how and when you and your client communicate.
7. Invest in your own growth
Being a life coach that serves clients better involves doing a lot of inner work. Engaging in self-reflection and increasing your own self-awareness allow you to provide clients with effective guidance while they work on making changes in their lives.
The more grounded, skilled, and aware you are, the better you’ll be able to help your clients and give them a positive experience during sessions. Programs like the Jay Shetty Certification School provide opportunities to work on building and refining a practical coaching skill set, while also focusing on your own growth.
Consider that small refinements can create big transformations
You don’t have to make major adjustments to your coaching style or approach to see positive changes. Remember that you’re not aiming to be a “perfect coach” — there’s no such thing. Instead, focus on continued growth as you move through your career.
Even small shifts can have a big impact on the coaching experience, like doing a bit of self-work, asking a couple of powerful questions during sessions, or focusing on being present.
These slight adjustments can lead to dramatic transformations that improve your ability to better serve your clients. Include the following tips in your coaching approach to start seeing these changes.
Start each session with intention
Before diving into a session with a client, take a couple of minutes to ground yourself. You might do a small centering ritual, such as writing in a journal, repeating a calming mantra, or focusing on your breathing. This simple act can shift your energy and presence, putting you in a better mindset to guide your clients.
If multitasking pulls your focus and energy away from coaching, consider automating small tasks. You might automate appointment reminders or batch social media content, for example, so you can give clients your full, undivided attention throughout their sessions.
Practice reflective listening more often
You want your clients to know that you heard and understand what they said, but be careful not to respond too quickly. Make space between your client’s words and your response, leaving room for reflection. It’s ok to take time to think of a thoughtful way to respond to clients, rather than restating or repeating what they said. In fact, it’s more helpful overall.
Reflecting back on what was said or felt helps build trust between you and your clients. Responding with care based on reflective listening also helps your clients feel more understood, encouraging them to continue opening up to you.
Review your sessions with curiosity, not criticism
Just as you’re helping clients with growth, focus on your own professional growth when reviewing your sessions. Don’t focus on nitpicking what went wrong or being overly critical. Going over your sessions with a growth mindset and a curious approach can help you gain honest insights — and even one insight can start a ripple effect of coaching improvement over time.
Your clients can provide valuable customer feedback as you review your sessions. Ask for feedback from them to make sure your coaching practice is aligned with their goals and needs. You can use these insights to make adjustments to your coaching techniques or approach as needed.
Deepen your impact as a coach with the Jay Shetty Certification School
Wanting to serve your clients better can motivate you to continue working on becoming a better coach. Remember that this is a lifelong journey, rather than a fixed goal or outcome.
To gain the tools, support, and community needed to improve your life coaching career, consider the Jay Shetty Certification School. This program provides all of these resources to help you thrive and make a bigger impact in your clients’ lives.
Are you ready to start a life coaching career? Join our program today!
*Disclaimer: Life coaches do not provide medical, nutritional, or mental health advice. Those needing support in these areas are encouraged to contact a licensed professional.
