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
What is possible?
What if it works out exactly as you want itto? What is the dream?
What is exciting to you about this?
What is the urge? What does your intuitiontell you?

Exploration
What is here that you want to explore?
What part of the situation have you not yetexplored?
What other angles can you think of?
What is just one more possibility?
What are your other options?

Assessment
What do you make of it?
What do you think is best?
How does it look to you?
How do you feel about it?
What resonates for you?

For InstanceIf you could do it over again, what would
you do differently?
If it had been you, what would you havedone?
How else could a person handle this?
If you could do anything you wanted, whatwould you do?

Clarification
What do you mean? What does it feel like?
What is the part that is not yet clear?
Can you say more? What do you want?
Elaboration
Can you tell me more? What else?
What other ideas/thoughts/ feelings do you
have about it?
Evaluation
What is the opportunity here?
What is the challenge?
How does this fit with your plans/way oflife/values?
What do you think that means? What isyour assessment?
ExampleWhat is an example?
For instance?
Like what? Such as?
What would it look like?

Copyright © 2019 Co-Active Training Institute.

Fun as PerspectiveWhat does fun mean to you?
What was humorous about the situation?
How can you make this more fun?
How do you want it to be?
If you were to teach people how to havefun, what would you say?
History
What caused it?
What led up to it?
What have you tried so far?
What do you make of it all?
Implementation
What is the action plan?
What will you have to do to get the job
done?
What support do you need to accomplish it?
What will you do?
When will you do it?

Integration
What will you take away from this?
How do you explain this to yourself?
What was the lesson?
How can you make sure you remember
what you have learned?

Predictions
How do you suppose it will all work out?
What will that get you?
Where will this lead?
What are the chances of success?
What is your prediction?

Learning
If your life depended on taking action,
what would you do?
If you had free choice in the matter,what would you do?
If the same thing came up again, what
would you do?
If we could wipe the slate clean, what
would you do?
If you had it to do over again, what
would you do?

Resources
What resources do you need to help youdecide?
What do you know about it now?
How do you suppose you can find out more
about it?
What kind of picture do you have rightnow?
What resources are available to you?

Options
What are the possibilities?
If you had your choice, what would you do?
What are possible solutions?
What will happen if you do, and what will
happen if you don’t?
What options can you create?
Outcomes
What do you want?
What is your desired outcome?
If you got it, what would you have?
How will you know you have reached it?
What would it look like?
Perspective
When you are ninety-five years old, what
will you want to say about your life?
What will you think about this five years
from now?
How does this relate to your life purpose?
In the bigger scheme of things, howimportant is this?
Planning
What do you plan to do about it?
What is your game plan? What kind of plan
do you create?
How do you suppose you improve thesituation? Now what?

Copyright © 2019 Co-Active Training Institute.

Starting the Session
What’s occurred since we last spoke?
What would you like to talk about?
What’s new/the latest/the update?
How was your week?
Where are you right now?
Substance
What seems to be the trouble?
What seems to be the main obstacle?
What is stopping you?
What concerns you the most about . . . ?
What do you want?
Summary
What is your conclusion?
How is this working?
How would you describe this?
What do you think this all amounts to?
How would you summarize the?
Taking Action
What action will you take? And after that?
What will you do? When?
Is this a time for action? What action?
Where do you go from here? When will you
do that?
What are your next steps?
By what date or time will you complete
these steps?