Question from a coach – When should I offer my observations to my client?

Question - When is it appropriate for a coach to stop the client and ask if they can tell the client what they see or what their observation is?

Jennifer –  I think it's appropriate when the coach has an observation AND it feels like a good stopping point in which the observation would be helpful to move the client forward in the direction of the agenda. It isn’t appropriate, however, if it was just some random observation that's not going to further the client towards where they want to go in that particular session.

Also, if the coach is starting to see a pattern repeated across sessions - that would also be something to capture as an observation. And again, the stopping point is a nuance. You want to do it when it makes the most sense. Sometimes you may not think posing a question is the best strategy. Instead, you may want to make an observation and then ask the client how that observation lands. You might follow the observation with, “What comes up for you when I say that?” or “How does that strike you that I am saying that? What are you seeing?” The trick is not to hold back, because sometimes it is a reflection from the coach that can do more than any powerful question could do.