There are many lists of coaching techniques; the following is fairly a fairly COMPREHENSIVE list but exhaustive:

• The 5-minute pre-session Check-In – Let your clients complete a short questionnaire before each coaching session. This helps both you and your clients to recognize their progress and SUCCESS since the last session.  You’ll find out if there were roadblocks and what they’ve been struggling with. It shows you what bothers them most at the moment and what they want to focus on during their next session.
• Use the SMART goal setting technique in your coaching – SMART goal setting stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-Based.

This technique brings a clear structure into goals.  Each goal or MILESTONE comes with clear and verifiable elements instead of vague resolutions.  The broad goal of “I want to grow my business” will be described in much more detailed and action-oriented steps by the client. The SMART goal could be: “I will WIN five new clients for my business this month by asking for referrals, creating two useful blog articles and social media networking”. 

• Let clients write down and share the gold nuggets after each session – Encourage your clients to share their gold nuggets from each session with you; it leaves them with a clear picture of how much value they received from your coaching. 

It’s easy to help them get going with just a few simple questions like: “What was the most valuable takeaway from this session?”. This coaching technique helps you to find out the client’s “A-ha” moments and to avoid misunderstandings. 

If all these notes are organized in a shared stream that is accessible to both you and the client you can reread and recap these nuggets any time at later stages during the process.

• Ask open-ended questions – Open-ended questions allow your clients to include more information, including feelings, attitudes, and understanding of the subject. This allows the coach to better access the clients’ true thoughts and feelings on the topic. 
• Use the power of writing – Writing down plans and goals is the first step towards making them a reality. It commits your clients to act, especially when they are shared and recorded with someone else (like with you – their coach). 

Writing enhances your client’s power of observation and focuses during a change or development process. 

A study with two groups has shown that people who write down goals and make a weekly progress report achieved their goals at a rate of 76%, whereas the participants of the group who didn’t write anything down achieved their goals at a rate of only 36%. 

• Be fully present and focused – Take two minutes for yourself and breathe calmly before each session.  Once your meeting has started, try to avoid distractions and give your clients undivided attention. Show your genuine interest and that you really care. This may sound self-evident but is an important step toward BUILDING trust and a meaningful coaching relationship.
• Follow-Up with the client – Use regular questionnaires where clients share their progress, experiences, success or challenges they might be facing. 

This ongoing feedback as a follow-up between sessions is a perfect way to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the coaching. It shows your clients that you really care about their progress and gives them the feeling they’re not alone with their challenges.

• The coaching journal of progress – A regular progress and reflection journal helps your clients to develop and gain self-awareness. 

A coaching journal is similar to the ongoing feedback described before. Your clients can write down their emotions, experiences, observations, challenges, success, thoughts, and feelings. They don’t have to wait until the next sessions which might be in a week or two but can share what’s on their mind right at the moment where it happens.

A shared journal gives your clients the feeling that you’re always there for them and “listening” without the need for your presence. They can write whenever they feel like it; at night, in the morning, during the day, at the train station on the way to their workplace or while waiting for the doctor.

A coaching journal gives them the ability to focus on themselves only without any time pressure or distractions. Once written down they can always reread and recap prior entries at a later stage of their process. Once these thoughts are shared with you you’ll gain invaluable information that will take your coaching and mentoring to the next level. 

• Homework assignment to strengthen accountability – No matter if you call it homework, worksheet, questionnaire or action item. They all support the work you’ve been doing within a coaching session. They help clients to reflect, act and achieve necessary milestones towards their bigger goal. 

Homework helps to see if and how the plans from each session are being applied; it helps clients to keep the focus on their plans, ideas, and goals.

1. The GROW model – The GROW model is a simple method for goal setting and problem-solving in coaching. It includes 4 stages:
2. G for Goal: The goal is what the client wants to accomplish. It should be defined as clearly as possible. You could combine it with the SMART method described earlier
3. R for Reality: That is the status quo, where our client is right now.  The client describes his/her current situation and how far she is away from her goal
4. O for Obstacles and Options: What are the obstacles (roadblocks) that keep your client from achieving the goal? Once these obstacles are identified you can find ways to overcome them – the options.
5. W for Way forward: Once identified the options need to be converted into action steps that will take your client to accomplish his/her goal.
6. A Shared To-Do list – The client commits to various action steps and plans during the coaching sessions.  Once they write down and share these ‘to-dos’ with you they actually put them into existence; they become like a contract between you and the client and strengthens their accountability. 

Another benefit is that both of you know what is getting done and what isn’t at any moment during the process. You immediately see where they procrastinate or struggle and when your support is needed.  The shared to-do list helps to set priorities, achieve milestones faster and keep track of the small wins during a coaching process.

• “My goal is achieved” – It is a great thought experiment if you ask your client to exactly describe a perfect day once the desired goal is achieved. 

It shouldn’t be just a vague description but a whole day from start to finish:

• How would he/she feel after waking up? 
• What would he/she do? 
• How would he/she feel? 

This technique will encourage the client to use his/her positive imagination and visualize what he/she truly desires. 

Afterward, you can work together to get the actual steps to that “miracle” where the goal is achieved.

• Use every session to become a better coach – Every single session offers you the chance to become a better coach.  Take five minutes immediately after your client left and write down some thoughts; you can:
• Track reactions to questions of a client
• Think about methods and techniques you used in the session and how  they worked
• Reflect upon the overall success of the session
• Think about something you would do differently if you could “replay” the session?