When coaching clients do you consider how you are speaking to them? As coaches the language that we use truly can make or break clients health and fitness journeys, yet it’s also one of the most neglected focuses of coaches.
As we talk about this its important to remember that there are different kinds of coaches and there are different types of clients. Certain coaches gravitate towards coaching in a specific way and some clients need a specific style of coaching in order to be successful. However, with that said, there are certain things that I use when coaching clients that I find to be relatively successful and helps to breed positive client-coach relationships.
One of the biggest things that I focus on when talking to clients it to avoid dropping them into labelled categories. For example; if a client with Type 1 Diabetes sat down with me I would avoid calling them a “diabetic”. Instead, I would say that they are someone who has Type 1 Diabetes. This small switch helps to make diabetes less of the individuals identity. Of course it is apart of your client and in this example is something that you would want to monitor as a trainer, but we don’t want to make the clients entire identity about the fact that they have diabetes. There is so much more to a person and it’s important to remind your client that is true.
Another thing that often comes up with trainers is that drill Sargent mentality. Although this will work with some clients (I would say fewer than more), it’s not typically a successful way to talk to most clients and it often doesn’t breed positive client-coach relationships. For a large majority of people the gym is an intimidating place, and this type of interactions between clients and coaches doesn’t help to build confidence in people who are already struggling to come into the gym in the first place. It doesn’t come off as a super welcoming environment when you see this and a client may not even be your client yet. Taking a gentler and more encouraging approach with clients can help to build confidence in your client and may even help you keep more clients around for longer periods of time. Welcoming environments are super important for the average client.
Another common mistake trainers make when they start working with a client is to pick out all the things that they need to improve on. While obviously a large part of the reason they are there is to make changes, typically there are some things that clients are already doing well and as a trainer it’s a good idea to find those things. When you can highlight those things to clients it helps set them up with some confidence right from the beginning, even before you start training with them. At the end of the confident and comfortable clients are long term clients, we want to always be building our clients up and encouraging them on their journey!
What other tips do you have for using language to build positive relationships with clients? It’s such an important part of the trainer-client relationship and I believe it’s often not utilized to it’s full ability! Confident, comfortable clients are happy clients…and happy clients tell their friends about your services!
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