During coaching sessions, does the coach take notes? Some yes, some no. Do clients take notes? Some yes, some no. What are the reasons?
For a coach, taking notes is part of the service provided to clients. When the coach is taking the notes, the client is free to think because they are comfortable knowing the coach is going to capture their thoughts, options, and plan. The reason some coaches don’t take notes is because that way there are no records, and that way they feel they are more focused on the client. As a coach I find that taking notes enhances my focus on the client plus clients’ value receiving the notes so they have an overview along with their list of action steps.
When a client takes notes they interrupt their own thinking to write something down. When there are no notes good ideas get lost.
How do you take notes? Keeping it simple is smart – take notes in a bullet point /outline format. Write the key words and phrases of the client. There is a caveat: if the client is using negative language and talking about what they do not want, ask them what they do want and for their positive focus, and then that is what gets included in the notes.
An extra tip: a software program that I find very helpful is one I purchased from MindMapper.com. The reason I like it is that all of the notes are visible on the screen, it is easy to navigate and easy to move notes around, plus with a few clicks it is converted to a Word document for sharing with a client.
Providing coaching notes to the client is a valuable part of the coaching service.
