Upbuild Coaching Bits: Listening To The Environment

Listening to the environment is one of the four listening channels. In coaching, when listening to the environment, you open up your focus to notice what is happening in your client’s environment, your own environment, or both. The environment could be the physical environment, the “space” between coach and client, or the client’s family, organization, industry, etc. This channel often involves listening to the “context” of the client’s situation.

Examples:

• Noticing the buzz of excitement that is present in the conversation

• You hear a dog bark or a siren blare while your client is discussing a difficult situation 

• You have a sense of the cultural or organizational challenges your client is facing

Coaching application: In an upcoming session, tune into the environment and acknowledge one thing that you notice about it. The acknowledgement could be internally to yourself or verbally to your client. 

Life application: Listen to the environment in your next conversation with a friend, colleague, or family member, and note what’s new that you discovered by tuning into this channel. 

Relevant Upbuild content:

• [Podcast] The Art of the Meta-Conversation (Apple / Spotify)

• [Podcast] The Four Listening Channels and the Power of Curiosity (Apple / Spotify)