Professional coaching requires various skills to help people and companies achieve their goals. Technical skills and expertise are essential, but soft skills set exceptional coaches apart from their peers. These skills help coaches foster growth and build trust with their clients.

Get to know each soft skill that sharpens a coach’s ability to drive change and contribute to building successful coaching results.

Effective Communication

Communication is the ultimate backbone of professional coaching. Coaches must know how to communicate verbally and non-verbally to convey clear and empathetic messages. If you want to be a coach, these are the techniques to hone your communication skills:

Active Listening

This practice involves full attention to the speaker, understanding the message, responding thoughtfully, and remembering those words. It’s about understanding the entire message than just listening to words. Here’s how you can train your listening skills:

  • Pay Attention: Avoid distractions and keep eye contact when the speaker is talking.
  • Non-Verbal Cues: Nod, smile, and look into the speaker’s eyes to show engagement.
  • Give Feedback: Paraphrase what the speaker said to show understanding. Offer thoughts and constructive feedback after the speaker finishes what they’re saying.
  • Give Appropriate Answers: Answer honestly and candidly while asserting your opinions respectfully.

Active listening is important in coaching sessions. It helps you uncover your client’s emotions and motivations, which can build trust and transparency. Asking insightful questions can also help clients explore their perspectives and thoughts, leading to better self-awareness.

Clear and Concise Expression

With clear communication, messages are understood without confusion. Being concise can make people listen to the speaker and respect their time. It involves:

  • Knowing the Purpose: Define what you want to achieve with your communication.
  • Being Direct: Communicate your main points directly and clearly without using complex language and jargon that may confuse the listener. Use simple language whenever you communicate your thoughts about anything.
  • Staying on Topic: Make sure your conversation tackles relevant points.

Non-Verbal Communication

This includes reading facial expressions, eye contact, body language, and gestures to convey a message if words don’t suffice. These actions can contradict or reinforce statements.

Some of them include:

  • Eye Contact: Keeping eye contact shows confidence and interest.
  • Body Language: Uncrossed arms and legs can make you look more approachable to other people.
  • Facial Expressions: Smiling and nodding can match your understanding and empathetic messages.
  • Tone of Voice: How high or low your voice can convey your attitude and emotions. Match your voice with the message you’re delivering.

Empathy and Emotional Intelligence

Empathy lets you understand and share your client’s feelings. Emotional intelligence, on the other hand, is essential in navigating the client’s emotional landscape. 

These two interpersonal skills create a deeper connection between clients. Empathy builds a strong rapport with clients, making it easy for them to open up about their struggles and dreams. Emotional intelligence lets you manage your emotions whether you’re in the coaching session or not.

Adaptability

Part of professional development is adaptability. Coaches must be adaptable and flexible since clients have different goals, needs, and challenges. You have to think on your feet, change parts of your strategic planning, and be open to new ideas.

Adaptability also means knowing the current best practices in your industry. You must constantly learn and try new things to meet your client’s ever-changing needs and expand your technical expertise.

Problem-Solving Skills

Good coaching skills involve helping clients find solutions to their problems. You have to learn how to identify the root causes of their problems and create actionable plans to solve them.

When solving problems, you need critical thinking, creativity, and the ability to divide complex issues into digestible steps. Excelling in this area means empowering clients to face their problems with resilience and confidence, leading to greater job success.

Patience and Perseverance

These necessary soft skills come in handy over time. Personal and professional growth is a long journey, and coaches must be patient with the client’s progress and perseverant in coming up with new ideas for the coaching process. This makes the client comfortable taking risks, making mistakes, and learning from the coach as they reach their goals and full potential.

Cultural Competence

Understanding, respecting, and valuing the differences in your client’s beliefs, experiences, and backgrounds is the core of cultural competence. By tailoring your coaching to your client’s cultural sensibilities, you can provide more effective and inclusive coaching and help build trust and a collaborative work environment.

Motivation and Inspiration

It’s your job as a coach to motivate your clients and ignite their passion. Help them build their confidence, celebrate their progress, and maintain a positive outlook while pursuing their goals until they reach them.

Conflict Resolution

Conflict is inevitable in every situation. You must know how to resolve conflicts and help clients resolve theirs constructively. This is possible by mediating discussions, facilitating understanding, and communicating effectively. To avoid biases, remain neutral and objective when settling conflicts.

Parting Thoughts

Just like hard skills, soft skills are also crucial in coaching. They connect coaches and clients to create lasting change. Learning these non-technical skills helps provide targeted and personalized guidance to every client.

Get into ICF-accredited coaching to improve soft skills. These programs contain soft skills training lessons that will make you a good coach. You can download modules and connect with other aspiring coaches to enrich your learning journey.