This is the third video in The Writing Process series. Sarah explains the value of identifying the TAPF (Topic, Audience, Purpose, Form) before you begin brainstorming content for your writing.
Education
The Writing Process – Part 2: Troubleshooting
This is the second video in The Writing Process series. Sarah builds on points made in the introductory vlog. She explains how and why writers benefit from truthful troubleshooting before moving forward in the writing process.
Writing Process: Part 1 – Introduction video with Sarah M. Kipp
In this video, Sarah M. Kipp introduces The Writing Process, her company’s eight-step approach to writing with ease and confidence.
Next week’s blog: Part 2 – Troubleshooting
Getting Started
This is the fourth and final blog in a series focused on the journey of coach and client—from the celebration of success to the moment of getting started.
Most people are not sure exactly what working with a coach will be like. Even after I share information about the process and approach, I know that choosing to say ‘yes’ to working together still feels, for many, like a leap of faith. As the coach, there is a leap of faith on my side as well. Before we begin working together, clients are rarely able to articulate what is at the core of where they want to focus. Most clients know that something in their professional or personal life is not working as well as they want, but they are not sure how to change the situation and are often equally unclear about what is getting in their way of experiencing success in that area.
When a prospective client approaches me about working together, we both have an opportunity to ask questions. The client needs to gauge whether my approach, personality, and level of experience match what they want in a coaching relationship. I need to know to what degree the prospective client is coachable. I am also listening to see if the prospective client is as committed to engaging in the process as I know I will be. While trust develops over time, I look for indications in our initial conversation that the client is someone who will be honest, open, and receptive to the coaching process.
Questions I often ask prospective clients:
- What is one thing that is getting in the way of who you want to be?
Clients often have many areas in life that they will work on during our coaching process. The answer to this question lets me know what is most important to them at this time.
- What would it mean to you if this (area of your life) were the way you want it to be?
The answer to this question helps me understand how committed the client is to working on the goal they shared with me and what the value is to them of reaching that goal.
- What else would you like to know about working with a coach?
I recognize that working with a coach feels like a big step for most people. To help people feel confident in taking that leap of faith, I want to give them as much information as I can to help them make an informed decision.
By the end of the initial meeting, both the prospective client and I can sense if this is a leap of faith we want to take together. I always acknowledge the courage that clients demonstrate in making that choice. Like many big decisions we make in life, waiting to feel ‘ready’ does not get us to where we want to be. Sometimes, if we truly value what we say we want as much as we say we do, we need to find a team, ask for what we need, and leap.
A Game-Changing Approach
This blog is the third in a series focused on the journey of coach and client—from the celebration of success to the moment of getting started.
Many of the clients I work with are preparing for an event that they experience as stressful. They may be preparing to deliver a speech, interview for a job or admission into a program, or take an exam required for licensure or certification. The client featured in this blog series was preparing to take an exam she had taken once before. Given what she had shared with me when we began working together, we decided to use a fifty-fifty approach. Half of our attention was focused on developing mastery of content. The other half of our focus was devoted to working on the less obvious, but equally important, aspects of preparing to engage successfully with an exam.
Many clients don’t realize that the stress-response they experience in the testing environment creates barriers in their brain. If the brain is focused on survival and protection, it may be much harder—or impossible–to access all the content and strategies that have been mastered.
To ensure the client would have full access, while in the testing situation, to all that she knew, we worked on these areas:
- releasing an attachment to the outcome (i.e., receiving a passing score) and shifting focus to areas the client can control (what experience she wanted to have while taking the exam)
- practicing stress-reducing activities such as deep breathing exercises and meditation
- reflecting on what did not work about previous experiences in the testing environment and developing strategies to transform how the client will handle the situation if similar circumstances are present
- planning nutritional choices to keep the client energized and focused both at the beginning of the test and throughout the test
- setting a clear intention for how the client wants to ‘be’ during the testing experience and developing strategies to address anything that might get in the way of that
- identifying specific techniques to increase confidence and focus and making a plan to use these techniques before and during the test
By focusing on both of these areas during our coaching sessions and in the time between sessions, the client developed mastery of content and her ability to access all of their knowledge and skill during the event. For this client, this dual-approach made all the difference.