When I think about direct communication it seems to me that it can be very powerful when it is used to help the client gain awareness. This can be helping the person hear what they have been saying in the coaching session and noticing places where they seem to be repeating something or where there seem to be powerful emotions or physical reactions to something they have been saying. The challenge in these situations is always to just notice something and invite them to give meaning to it. It can be very tempting to ascribe meaning and tell them what we think is going on rather than allowing them to discover in themselves what is happening.

Direct communication can have a powerful impact especially when utilized to reframe a client's situation so that they can see it from a new perspective. In my experience this has happened most often through exploring the relationship between two items the client has mentioned. It is important to to directly communicate in such a way with care and within the context of the specific coaching relationship. The coach needs to intentionally remain neutral, objective and with no agenda (other than the client's agenda) or interpretation. The coach needs to be attentive to how they voice this direct communication (including their own body language, tone of voice, etc.). The example of "Standing with a Client in Difficult times" also bears further exploration.

Direct communication is easier me as I get to know the client as I have more information from which to draw. recently I find myself using direct communication when my clients jump back and forth between the past and the preferred future without a connection of the two as it relates to beliefs, actions, assumptions in the the present. Provoking new awareness is helpful for me when a client seems "stuck" . Being more aware of how I use direct communication I find that I need to be mindful of "leading the witness", so to speak. I've caught myself a couple times using direct communication to get my client to connect the things I THINK they need to connect so then we can explore what I THINK is important. Keeping direct communication focused is easier when I consider Coach Nathan's 'question/statement/question' strategy. I do see direct communication powerful in helping the client move forward in a more rapid transformational way.

I see the benefit of using metaphors, analogies and reflections when using direct communication. The challenge is having some of those analogies in your back pocket. I like the analogy possibility that we discussed in class...(Describe a day...is it storm clouds, sunny, a category 4 storm?) I think analogies similar to this can help clients to think outside a particular situation. Also, perhaps asking directly, "What is the elephant in the room here?"

One challenge I have with using direct communication is that sometimes it feels like it changes the dynamic of the session into more conversational as opposed to coaching. Maybe with experience I'll use it more effectively. Adding an open-ended question after making an observation is a helpful reminder. I also see direct communication being helpful when the client offers contradictory comments like, "My boss said this to me but really I'm okay with it. Its just frustrating." Naming the contradiction followed by an open-ended question might help the client get to the heart of the issue. The statement, "Direct communication requires a delicate balance between being too provocative and diluting the message," names the challenges of DC for me. I remind myself, "Trust the process."

I definitely see the value in Direct Communication. In my opinion it does require a certain finesse in order for it to be on point and impactful. I think the heart of direct communication is to lower the potential of misunderstandings which in turn can raise the level of trust between people. I think when we are uncomfortable with conflict there is a tendency to communicate indirectly to soften the message. It's that very style of communicating that creates confusion and mistrust.

Direct communication requires being respectfully specific/explicit about the message being conveyed. The coach needs to check their intentions throughout the conversation to ensure that they are not leading the client to a conclusion of their own but rather for the clients best interest. The coach must remain neutral in their words, body language and tone.

I'll openly admit that I strDirect communication skills are everything other than asking questions. It's central to that conversational flow that every coach strives for while adding value to the client.

According to Carly Andersen, MCC, direct communication includes "reframing and articulating in a way that helps the client to understand from another perspective what they want or are uncertain about." This includes sharing your intuitions, observations, feedback and wonderings.

I greatly appreciate the awareness provided by the blog above, in relation to how coaches should pursue their coaching relationships. Specifically, the idea that coaches should soften delivery, but not the message itself. The content should be firm and direct, this lies at the heart of direct communication strategies. This should help facilitate disruptive thinking in the client, not so the coach can learn something new, but rather so they can support the client's own wisdom and awareness in their thinking. The ability to approach each coaching session in this way is very powerful because it retains the power, and the ability to lead, in the hands of the client... while at the same time empowering the coach to poke, prod, and cajole in a wise way. This goes back to the idea of softening the delivery, but not the message. This is vital.

One of the things that has really captured my imagination over this chapter is to get people to connect the dots. So often we don't see how one part of actions or thoughts can really impact other actions and thoughts we have. When we take the time and have people see how these two or three things are related they can begin to see how they affect their whole situation. I know for myself during a coaching session that I learned that my problem wasn't being able to get the project done but it was my negative self talk which kept me from my goals. Once I saw how the negative self talk contributed to my lack of progress, i could begin to correct it. It was my connect the dot moment and knowing how it affected how I lived my life, I want to be able to do that for my clients.

I have limited coaching experience, but from the experience I do have I likely need to be cautious with direct language. It's something I could easily default to. When perceptive, I can see how these can be helpful. Yet I think my own development as a coach would be best served with focusing on more basic questions than observations and statements. I will likely make these naturally anyway - it's a strong inclination. These statements, at their best, are often received as wisdom, but as noted above, I want to focus on maximizing the client's awareness and agency, and use direct statements with caution.

This is a really nuanced issue, and I think one that will take much trial and error to practice. The potential questions included are excellent and I am sure that I will be referencing them. For me it is helpful to be curious about helping a client self-identify their own patterns of behavior, or core issues related to a situation rather than aiming to be direct about the situation itself. I think knowing how to address each client takes some understanding of the client and some built trust between the coach and coachee.

I really like the question "I'm wondering....?" I can see this being a really helpful way to draw more reflection from the coachee. I also think it could be really helpful to reflect back to the client how we sense they are feeling about a situation.

In working with a care receiver in the past I asked her directly about her drinking habits and in brining up that topic she was able to come to the awareness that she was using alcohol too much, so I was grateful that I was direct in that. I need to be more mindful that when I am asking direct questions that they don't come off as judgmental. It is really important to make sure that I am using active listening so I can help a client connect the dots, off times clients talk in circles so you need to listen to where you can connect the dots for them. There is a risk that people take in having direct communication with others so that is why it is often not done, but as a coach when it is done well, you can uncover the WHO and the WHAT. My question is how soon is too soon in a coaching relationship to ask the more direct questions?