Powerful Questions

Powerful questions are provocative queries that put a halt to evasion and confusion. By asking
the powerful question, the coach invites the client to clarity, action, and discovery at a whole
new level. As you can see from the following examples, these generally are open-ended
questions that create greater possibility for expanded learning and fresh perspective.

Anticipation Exploration
What is possible? What is here that you want to explore?
What if it works out exactly as you want it What part of the situation have you not yet
to? What is the dream? explored?
What is exciting to you about this? What other angles can you think of?
What is the urge? What does your intuition What is just one more possibility?
tell you? What are your other options?

Assessment For Instance

What do you make of it? If you could do it over again, what would
What do you think is best? you do differently?
How does it look to you? If it had been you, what would you have
How do you feel about it? done?
What resonates for you? How else could a person handle this?
If you could do anything you wanted, what
Clarification would you do?
What do you mean? What does it feel like?
What is the part that is not yet clear? Fun as Perspective
Can you say more? What do you want? What does fun mean to you?
What was humorous about the situation?
Elaboration How can you make this more fun?
Can you tell me more? What else? How do you want it to be?
What other ideas/thoughts/ feelings do you If you were to teach people how to have
have about it? fun, what would you say?

Evaluation History
What is the opportunity here? What caused it?
What is the challenge? What led up to it?
How does this fit with your plans/way of What have you tried so far?
life/values? What do you make of it all?
What do you think that means? What is
your assessment? Implementation
What is the action plan?
Example What will you have to do to get the job
What is an example? done?
For instance? What support do you need to accomplish it?
Like what? Such as? What will you do?
What would it look like? When will you do it?

Copyright © 2019 Co-Active Training Institute.

 Integration Predictions
What will you take away from this? How do you suppose it will all work out?
How do you explain this to yourself? What will that get you?
What was the lesson? Where will this lead?
How can you make sure you remember What are the chances of success?
what you have learned? What is your prediction?

Learning Resources
If your life depended on taking action, What resources do you need to help you
what would you do? decide?
If you had free choice in the matter, What do you know about it now?
what would you do? How do you suppose you can find out more
If the same thing came up again, what about it?
would you do? What kind of picture do you have right
If we could wipe the slate clean, what now?
would you do? What resources are available to you?
If you had it to do over again, what
would you do? Starting the Session
What’s occurred since we last spoke?
Options What would you like to talk about?
What are the possibilities? What’s new/the latest/the update?
If you had your choice, what would you do? How was your week?
What are possible solutions? Where are you right now?
What will happen if you do, and what will
happen if you don’t? Substance
What options can you create? What seems to be the trouble?
What seems to be the main obstacle?
Outcomes What is stopping you?
What do you want? What concerns you the most about . . . ?
What is your desired outcome? What do you want?
If you got it, what would you have?
How will you know you have reached it? Summary
What would it look like? What is your conclusion?
How is this working?
Perspective How would you describe this?
When you are ninety-five years old, what What do you think this all amounts to?
will you want to say about your life? How would you summarize the?
What will you think about this five years
from now? Taking Action
How does this relate to your life purpose? What action will you take? And after that?
In the bigger scheme of things, how What will you do? When?
important is this? Is this a time for action? What action?
Where do you go from here? When will you
Planning do that?
What do you plan to do about it? What are your next steps?
What is your game plan? What kind of plan By what date or time will you complete
do you create? these steps?
How do you suppose you improve the
situation? Now what?

Copyright © 2019 Co-Active Training Institute.